The poor and vulnerable in Gauteng continue to be deprived of essential services due to the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s (GDSD) ongoing financial mismanagement, irregular expenditure, and impunity for those guilty of financial misconduct. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng demands that MEC Faith Mazibuko urgently implement strict financial management controls and stop shielding corrupt individuals who are stealing from the most vulnerable residents.
The 2024/25 Auditor General’s report on the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) once again exposes a department mired in mismanagement, irregular expenditure, and the ongoing failure to implement key recommendations from past investigations, including the seven scathing reports commissioned from BDO and Bowmans in 2018.
Despite these reports recommending criminal charges against officials implicated in fraud and corruption, no action has ensued to date. The Auditor General confirms that the department continues to flout basic financial controls and has failed to ensure consequence management for misconduct identified in previous years.
Specifically, on page 130 of the 2024/25 Annual Report, the department concedes material non-compliance in expenditure and consequence management, with the Auditor General explicitly stating that “the Accounting Officer did not prevent irregular expenditure” and that “the department has not implemented recommendations from investigation reports”. This means that officials implicated in forensic investigations continue to live comfortably while the poorest citizens of Gauteng pay the price.
The report also notes that irregular procurement for food parcels and dignity packs was “approved by the Accounting Officer even though it was practical to invite competitive bids,” underscoring the reckless disregard for procurement laws in programmes that directly affect vulnerable women and children.
Even more concerning, the Auditor General found that the department reported invalid and deceased NPO beneficiaries as part of its service delivery numbers. This not only undermines trust in the NPO funding process but suggests that the system meant to support the poor is being manipulated to conceal inefficiency and corruption.
The department’s so-called “audit improvement plan” is nothing more than window dressing. It is a disgrace that six years after the Bowmans and BDO reports, which exposed deep-seated rot in NPO funding and procurement, the same issues persist.
MEC Faith Mazibuko must immediately table the full BDO and Bowmans reports before the Gauteng Provincial Legislature; disclose all steps taken or not taken to implement the recommendations; refer implicated officials for criminal prosecution as originally recommended; and provide a detailed update on consequence management actions as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Should MEC Mazibuko and Premier Panyaza Lesufi fail to table these reports to cover up corruption, the DA will take this matter to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and demand an independent forensic review of all NPO funding since 2018.
The time of exploiting the GDSD for the benefit of corrupt individuals close to politicians has ended. The Lesufi-led minority government must lose every rand lost to irregular spending and nefarious financial practices.