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The Auditor General’s office has published his second report on government spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke, who succeeded the late Kimi Makwetu, found “significant deficiencies in the procurement and contract management processes of the aid package that the government redirected in response to COVID-19.”
Maluleke applauded the government’s ongoing efforts to combat the pandemic, saying it has done well to ensure the provision of sufficient health services.
At the request of President Ramapahosa, the Auditor General’s office conducted an audit of government spending on COVID-19 after a R500 billion package was made available to contain the spread of the virus and alleviate its social and economic distress. .
This is the second in a series of audit reports on COVID-19 spending, and Maluleke said that, like the first, it finds evidence of irregularities, poor controls and systems, and indicators of potential fraud.
“The audit office again reports that the information technology systems, processes, and controls used in government were not agile enough to respond to the required changes,” the report says.
“The lack of data validation, integration and sharing between government platforms resulted in individuals (including government officials) receiving benefits and grants to which they were not entitled.”
“Some of the initiatives did not achieve the desired results and were even abandoned due to failures in coordination, monitoring and relationships between the three spheres of government,” he said.
COVID-19 spending problems in South Africa
We’ve highlighted some of the more interesting findings from the Auditor General’s report below:
- TERS aid payments were abused and paid to people who were below the legal working age, died, received other benefits, or worked in the government. R3.4 billion of funds that may have been improperly disbursed have been recovered.
- 1,513 company directors that received government tenders He applied for and received social assistance from SASSA.
- Inadequate planning, record-keeping, and guidelines resulted in inconsistencies in the delivery of food packages, including people receiving food packages multiple times, grant recipients also receiving food packages, and approved recipients not receiving food packages.
- The audit identified several cases of contracts awarded to companies that do not have a history of supplying PPE – you often work in a different industry or even train or register just before a contract is awarded.
- The Department of Defense acquired a unregistered drug from Cuba, which was exposed to variations in temperature that may have compromised its integrity and wasted money spent on the drug.
The report noted that it has found that government ministers and departments are receptive to these criticisms and are eager to work with other agencies to improve the outcome of this spending.
“The public sector requires more effective, longer-term solutions to address the underlying causes of people, systems and processes that are not working optimally,” the report says.
“From our side as the audit office, we will continue to audit COVID-19 funding and follow up on the progress made to address the audit findings and observations in this report as part of our normal annual audit.”
The third audit report on COVID-19 spending is expected to be released in mid-2021 and will focus on local government.
Now Read: Eskom’s “Stealth Bailout” Will Put South African Pensions at Risk – DA
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