https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / Statements RSS ← Back
Business|Financial|Power|Resources|Service|System
Business|Financial|Power|Resources|Service|System
business|financial|power|resources|service|system
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Auditor General’s new powers ‘dead on arrival’ due to delays in concluding investigations

Close

Embed Video

Auditor General’s new powers ‘dead on arrival’ due to delays in concluding investigations

25th November 2022

ARTICLE ENQUIRY      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Amendments to the Public Audit Act, that came into effect in April 2019 with the express purpose of giving the Auditor-General (AG) power to take remedial action against government entities flagged for material irregularities, are at risk of being rendered useless by law enforcement agencies and other public bodies that are taking too long to conclude cases referred to them for investigation by the AG.

In her report tabled in Parliament yesterday titled ‘Material irregularities in National and Provincial government’, the AG revealed that it is taking, on average, close to two years for law enforcement agencies such as the Hawks, SAPS, State Attorney, Special Investigating Unit and Competition Commission to conclude cases referred to them for investigation.

Advertisement

The DA has written to the Chairperson on the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General, Sakhumuzi Somoyo, requesting that he invites heads of the aforementioned agencies to come and account to Parliament on why they are failing to conclude their investigations timeously to enable the recovery of public resources from offending parties.

With the AG confirming that over R12 billion has been lost by the state over the 2021/2022 audit reporting period, the failure to conclude material irregularity cases on time ‘hampers the timeous recovery of financial losses, consequence management processes and criminal proceedings’.

Advertisement

In fact, due to the lengthy time taken to finalize investigations against suppliers flagged for irregular business conduct with government departments, some suppliers have had the audacity to liquidate their businesses to avoid having their assets attached and liquidated. Offending parties are essentially ‘gaming the system’ in open mockery to the new AG powers which were meant to hold them accountable for abusing taxpayer money.

Without mincing her words, the AG made it clear in her report that the state is unable to recover financial resources and institute consequence management against officials because:

  • Investigations by public bodies (e.g. the SIU and Hawks) take long to conclude;
  • Suppliers are often liquidated before any recoveries can commence;
  • There are delays in the financial recovery processes by the State Attorney;

Delays is in disciplining officials responsible for material irregularities - either the investigation to identify the responsible officials takes too long or the disciplinary processes against implicated officials are delayed.

In order to ensure that the AG’s newly acquired powers do not become a footnote in the public consequence management ecosystem, the Standing Committee has to come to the party and heed the AG’s call in which she calls ‘on committees in Parliament and the provincial legislatures to continue to advocate for action by accounting officers and authorities and their executive authorities, while also paying attention to the problems experienced by public bodies in playing their role in the accountability ecosystem’. Failure to act will breed impunity and sustained abuse of public resources by public service employees and suppliers with ill intent.

 

Issued by Haniff Hoosen MP - DA Member on Standing Committee on Auditor General

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE ARTICLE ENQUIRY

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

 

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now