By Johnathan Paoli
The government has welcomed the release of the Auditor-General (AG)’s report and praised the improved number of clean audits across national and provincial government departments.
Government Communication and Information System acting spokesperson Nomonde Mnukwa said the improvements illustrated the government’s determination in addressing the challenges.
“These results show progress that has been made in strengthening financial and performance management in these two spheres of government,” Mnukwa said.
The AG reported that audit outcomes improved from 2018-19 (which was the last year of the 5th administration) and the number of clean audits increased from 93 to 142.
More auditees improved their audit outcomes than regressed every year over the term of the administration. By 2023-24, 139 auditees had improved their outcomes and 50 had regressed – an overall net improvement of 24%.
Mnukwa said the improvements highlighted the commitment of government entities to accountability, transparency and the efficient use of public resources.
Shesaid that while there has been notable progress, the government acknowledged the concerns raised by the AG regarding instances of fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
“These findings serve as a critical reminder of the ongoing need to strengthen oversight, accountability, and compliance mechanisms to prevent the recurrence of such issues,” she said.
Mnukwa said that the government would continue its efforts to build a capable and developmental state that prioritised people and focused on improved implementation capability, including initiatives to enhance financial controls, upskill personnel and cultivate a culture of ethical leadership across all spheres of government.
Meanwhile, the Congress of SA Trade Unions has expressed its concern about the willingness of the government to allow a culture of impunity and lack of accountability.
Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela noted the overall improvement in audit outcomes over the past five years, only one out of 19 SOEs received a clean audit.
“It is deeply worrying that reports of shoddily performing state-owned entities are now a norm, yet accountability receives inadequate attention,” Sabela said.
She said that present risks such as weaknesses in procurement and contract management, lack of infrastructure delivery and maintenance remained a key issue, especially in the most critical and impactful government departments.
Sabela criticised the way in which, unlike the private sector, performance failures and questionable conduct were treated with complacency and kid gloves.
She laid the blame at the inadequate financial support given to law enforcement agencies such as the National Prosecuting Authority, the Special Investigating Unit, and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, who were forced to outsource special skills,
“Prospects of turning this around will only be a dream if anti-corruption agencies, to date, are left to scramble for sufficient resources and the financial capacity to fulfil their duties,” she said.
Sabela said Cosatu remained alarmed at the government’s decision to not yet exercise the full powers allocated to it under the Auditing Amendment Act to recover stolen assets from complicit individuals.
“Utilising these progressive powers is key to winning the war against crime, corruption and state capture and to ensuring that public funds are used for their intended purposes of delivering public services and investing in working class communities,” she said.
Cosatu has called on the government to address the problem of accountability and said similar to private entities, government institutions were capable of exhibiting efficiency, which would create employment and provide essential services.
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