Cabinet ministers have been instructed to ensure that there are consequences for those in charge of government department purse strings who spend money without following due process, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

In his annual address to the National Council of Provinces, Zuma welcomed the Auditor-General’s (AG) release of the audit outcomes of the 468 national and provincial government departments, and state entities.

The audit outcomes saw only a slight increase in the number of clean audits, with the AG bemoaning the slow pace at which leadership was responding to recommendations to improve financial performance and the lack of consequences for those who fail to work within the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

“We also agree with the Auditor-General that there should be consequences for bad management,” Zuma said.

“Ministers, as Executive Authorities running the departments, have been spoken to in this regard. They must ensure that officials under their management fulfill all prescripts when utilising public funds.”

Zuma stressed that a negative audit opinion did not necessarily mean that taxpayers’ money was being stolen, insisting that in most cases it was as a result of the procedures set out in the PFMA not being followed.

“Ministers will ensure that their accounting officers, the Directors-General, implement the remedial action stipulated by the Auditor-General,” he said.