The auditor general has uncovered a sorry tale of money mismanagement within the government. Marion Edmunds reports
THE government’s financial management has continued to deteriorate, with irregular spending running to more than R150-million in the 1995/96 fiscal year.
Unveiling his annual report on national government accounts in Parliament on Wednesday, Auditor General Henri Kleuver said he had serious doubts about 22 departments’ accounts- the worst culprits being the departments of Health, Finance and Correctional Services.
Kleuver also said the government had underspent R14-billion – 10% – of its total Budget for the 1995/96 year, which underlined poor and confused budgeting.
The Health Department had unauthorised expenditure of R58-million on its books – much of it relating to the failure to comply with state tender procedures. The expenditure included more than R10-million on the ill-fated Aids play Sarafina II. The cost of the play could increase, Kleuver said – his office had still to complete a thorough financial audit. Kleuver had also demanded the department hand him all details of tenders allocated during the 1995/96 year.
The Correctional Services Department had R35-million in unauthorised expenditure, much of it spent on running clubs, messes and stores.
The Finance Department had R47-million classed as unauthorised.
Kleuver said the money had not necessarily been lost or stolen, but that frequent incidences of such expenditure indicated poor financial management.
Kleuver said he had been warning of such weaknesses since 1989, but that the main reasons for the current problems included the flight of skills from the public service and difficulties with a newly implemented accounting system. The auditor general planned to establish a special forensic auditing unit to support the Justice Department in its crackdown on economic crime within the public sector.
Kleuver had even written to National Police Commissioner George Fivaz complaining about the apparent inability to curb crime. The police’s accounts, he said, were based on limited and often inaccurate information.
Kleuver’s other observations included:
* central government was failing to prioritise financial management, despite warnings;
* widespread flouting of tendering procedures;
* lax administration of government assets;
* and the government had not got to grips with the integration of former self- governing territories.
Kleuver also warned that the financial situation of local government was deteriorating fast. He said it was in the public interest to discuss the problem in Parliament. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has so far refused to disclose details of individual local government financial woes.