The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, publicise the findings on the investigation of the R230 000 in fruitless and wasteful expenditure from the Department of Finance.
This will ensure that consequence management is implemented against officials contravening regulations in the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). In addition, it will set an example that public funds must not be used in vain, as they are meant to benefit the residents of Gauteng.
The Auditor General (AG) has deemed the R230 000 expenditure by the Gauteng Department of Finance in the 2023/2024 financial year as a fruitless and wasteful expenditure. This expenditure was incurred under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) Compliance and Other Matters programme. This matter has now been escalated to Premier Lesufi’s office for investigation.
This information was revealed by the Head of Department for Finance, Ncumisa Mnyani, at a recent Finance Committee Portfolio Committee meeting and confirmed by the Auditor General’s Office in the same meeting.
During discussions, the Democratic Alliance (DA) highlighted, among other concerns, that despite an increase in budget allocation over the previous year, the Provincial Supply Chain and Asset Management Programme garnered R102 908 000 in the 2023/2024 financial year this department has been underspending.
There was also concern about a lack of information regarding the introduction of a Monitoring and Complaints Register, introduced to deal with the management of complaints or allegations of abuse in the Supply Chain Management process, and the ability of entities to supply all the necessary documents in the SCM Process itself.
The DA will insist on the findings of the investigation into the R230 000 fruitless and wasteful expenditure being made public and the appropriate consequence management being implemented against those officials who contravene any of the regulations stipulated in the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Furthermore, like many other investigation findings, we will fight for it to be made public, as it has become the norm for Premier Lesufi to shield officials involved in corruption and financial mismanagement by not releasing the reports. We will write to the Premier to ascertain the progress of the investigation and determine when it will be completed, and the findings made public.
A DA government will ensure that all departments adhere to the PFMA regulations, and that consequence management is implemented to curb corruption and mismanagement of public funds.