New law has already saved millions, says AG
Even though basic governance failures and fraud in the national and provincial spheres have led to losses of R12bn, the Auditor-General believes a legislative amendment that gave it more teeth is starting to move accounting officers from inaction to action in the quest for clean government.
The R12bn could have been R636m more if the AG’s interventions didn't lead to accounting officers taking appropriate actions on time, it said.
According to a News24 report, AG Tsakani Maluleke on Friday delivered a presentation to the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General on the material irregularities (MIs) it found in national and provincial government entities in audits conducted up to 31 August 2022 for the 2021-22 financial year.
Maluleke said for years, the AG has warned about increasing mismanagement, the leakage of public funds, and the continuous increases in irregular expenditure without consequences.
‘It was evident that those charged with running and overseeing public institutions were paying little attention to the audit reports and the recommendations of the AG,’ she told the committee.
This led to the Public Audit Amendment Act, which came into effect in 2019. This law allows the AG to refer suspected material irregularities found during audits to public bodies for further investigation and to compel accounting authorities to ‘take appropriate remedial action’ where irregularities exist.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the AG found 179 MIs in national and provincial governments and their entities.
Of the 179 MIs, 169 cost the state R12bn. It was not able to put a rand value on nine MIs, and these related to causing substantial harm to public institutions.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
