Publications
Partners
Irregular expenditure in Mpumalangais no longer going to be ignored say opposition parties, who have taken unprecedented steps to lay criminal charges.
The Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance have, for the first time, approached the police to investigate adverse Auditor-General finding against departments and parastatals.
DA legislature member, Jane Sithole, met the Hawks unit yesterday to lay charges against Health MEC Gillion Mashego, after he allegedly did nothing about R3.8 billion irregular expenditure in his department in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 financial years.
Sithole said Mashego did not launch an investigation into the irregular expenditure, hence he should be charged in terms of the Public Finance Management Act.
Two weeks ago, the EFF laid charges against six MECs as well as departmental and parastatal officials based on the Auditor-General’s 2015-2016 financial year report, which found irregular expenditure incurred to be about R4 billion.
Irregular expenditure occurs when laws and regulations such the Public Finance Management Act and supply chain management guidelines are flouted when goods and services are procured.
Year after year, the Auditor-General’s office has been lamenting that no punitive measures were being taken against miscreants in government departments.
“Government officials must be held accountable for wrongdoings and cannot escape the arm of the law, however, MEC Mashego allowed for the former heads of department’s actions to go unpunished and therefore he must be held liable,” Sithole said.
• Department of human settlements for irregular expenditure of R1.1 billion – most of which emanated from the appointment of RDP contractors;
• Department of health for incurring unauthorised and irregular expenditure amounting to about R1.9 billion;
• Department of safety, security and community liaison for incurring irregular and unauthorised expenditure of more than R5 million;
• Department of education for incurring unauthorised and irregular expenditure amounting to R355 million. The charges also include the irregular appointment of school nutrition contractors (which made R92 million of the irregular expenditure) and suppliers of learner support materials.
• The office of the premier for incurring an amount of R5 million in irregular expenditure, and the splurging of R70 million during the memorial services of former president Nelson Mandela.
• Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency for incurring fruitless and wasteful, unauthorised and irregular expenditure amounting to millions of rands, which led to the public entity to obtain a disclaimer.
Mashego’s spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, said the department had started to investigate all irregular expenditures incurred and some of the cases had been concluded and disciplinary actions taken.
“The department is of the view that the matter does not warrant the intervention of the court. However, it is a constitutional right of any party to approach the courts for recourse,” Malamule said.
“On the other hand, the department initiated a process of regularising the financial irregularities in compliance with the supply chain prescripts. In strengthening internal controls, bid committees have been established at all levels of service delivery with clear terms of reference,” he added.
Departments incurred R4 billion irregular expenditure
Mpumalanga departments incurred a combined R3.97 billion irregular expenditure during the 2015-2016 financial years and the biggest contributors were the departments of education, health and human settlements – which incurred R355 million, R1.9 billion and R1.1 billion respectively.
Most of the irregular expenditure stemmed from the procurement of linen, patients’ food, pharmaceuticals, medical waste removal, RDP houses, school nutrition and learner support materials.
According to Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, most of the irregular expenditure in Mpumalanga and elsewhere in the country, emanated from the flouting of supply chain management regulations. In the whole country, irregular expenditure has increased by nearly 40% since 2013/14 to R46.36 billion.
Mpumalanga’s irregular expenditure has been increasing over the past three financial years. It was R1 billion in 2013-2014 and increased to R2.4 billion in 2014-2015 and in the last financial year it was R3.971 billion.
EFF Mpumalanga leader, Collen Sedibe, warned that similar charges would be laid against executive mayors and municipal managers if their institutions were found to have contravened the Municipal Finance Management Act.
“Section 38(1) of the Public Finance Management Act empowers any member of the public or legislature to open a criminal and corruption case against transgressors”, Sedibe said.
“More case are still going to be opened in the coming weeks against mayors and municipal managers and other senior council officials all over the province based on the Auditor-General’s findings,” he said.
Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza’s spokesperson, Zibonele Mncwango, said he would consult provincial director-general, Thulani Mdakane, for a comment but he had not done so at the time of publication.
 |
| ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
