Gauteng sports and recreation racks up R194 million in irregular expenditure

21 September 2016

The Gauteng Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture (SRAC) incurred R194 million in irregular expenditure during the 2015/16 financial year, as mentioned in its annual report. 

According to the Auditor General of South Africa (AG), effective steps were not taken by the department’s financial officer to prevent this irregular expenditure. 

The AG also noted in its report to the department the following: 

- Financial statements submitted for auditing were not in accordance with the regulations of the Public Financial Management Act;

- Effective steps were not taken to prevent unauthorised expenditure amounting to R12,8 million; 

- Goods and services with a transaction value above R500 000 were procured without following proper procedures; 

- The head of department did not perform adequate oversight over financial reporting, compliance with legislation and related internal controls;  

- Management did not identify areas of non-compliance in supply chain management regulations due to a lack of training and understanding; and  

- There are various investigations in progress relating to procurement irregularities, fraud, theft and negligence within the department. 

The annual financial statements of the department clearly shows SRAC is unable to manage its finances.

Further to this, SRAC, underspent its budget by over R90 million, which could and should have been spent on recreation and sporting facilities, library materials and sporting kits for disadvantaged teams. 

Sports MEC Faith Mazibuko has a responsibility to ensure sound financial management practices are in place to prevent further financial losses. 

Issued by Kingsol Chabalala, DA Gauteng Spokesperson on Sport, Recreation, Arts, Culture and Heritage, 21 September 2016