Auditor-General should use new Bill to claim back public money lost through mismanagement and corruption
21 November 2018
Today the Auditor-General (A-G) revealed that fruitless and wasteful expenditure increased by over 200% year-on-year to R2.5 billion, with unauthorized expenditure increasing by 38. The A-G also noted that there was an increase in irregular expenditure and that it is likely to be in excess of R51 billion; however, he could not confirm the figure because of outstanding audits and incomplete information.
The DA therefore welcomes the news that President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally signed the Public Audit Amendment Bill into law. This important piece of legislation, which was collecting dust on the president’s desk, will now give the A-G more power to hold officials accountable as opposed to merely pointing out irregularities and indiscretions. This is a necessary step, especially considering that the ANC has shown it is incapable of holding offenders accountable, and we urge that this new piece of legislation is implemented urgently.
In October, the DA concluded that irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure totaled a staggering R75.6 billion on a study of the 2017/18 Annual Reports of government departments and selected entities.
We also made the point then that “[w]here the DA has taken over failing ANC governments, it has succeeded in sorting out the financial mess and improving service delivery in remarkably short periods of time.” Today’s report once again showed how the DA-run Western Cape, with 83% clean audits, is way ahead of the next best, namely Gauteng at 52%.
DA-led governments achieve these successes because we are tough on mismanagement and waste, and we prioritize the provision of services to our residents. We hold everyone, including those in political office to account for maladministration and corruption.
Clean governance is paramount to moving South Africa forward, and to ensure that every rand being spent by the government is spent to improve the lives of South Africans. It is clear that the DA is the only party that has the will to put clean and efficient governments for all South Africans.
Issued by Alan McLoughlin, DA Member of the Standing Committee on the Auditor General, 21 November 2018
