THURSDAY, 5.00PM
NORTH-WEST provincial auditor general Bryant Madliwa on Thursday released a report detailing hundreds of millions of rands in unauthorised spending, irregularities in expenses claims, missing vouchers and large-scale theft.
The report on the auditor general’s investigation shows that the provincial premier’s office alone was unable to produce documentation to support R3,5-million in spending. In another case, tender board approval could not be found for a R18-million RDP project.
The report, on the 1995-96 financial year, said the audit had revealed major inadequacies in internal controls and poor record-keeping in almost all departments. In one department — transport and civil aviation — vouchers (receipts or other proof of a transaction) could not be produced for expenditure of R135-million, which made up 60% of its total spending. Similar irregularities were uncovered in nearly all government departments in the province.
Accumulated unauthorised spending of R603,5-million in the paymaster-general’s account had not been carried over into the 1995-96 financial year, but was instead merely written off. The legislature had not passed any Act to authorise this. Contrary to provincial treasury instructions the revenue, paymaster-general, salaries and exchequer bank accounts had not been reconciled at the end of each month and a supervisor had not performed detailed checks at least twice a year. A new exchequer bank account had been opened in March 1995 while the old bank account was still used to deposit money. No reconciliations were done for either of these accounts.
Madliwa said his findings prevented him from expressing an unqualified opinion on the administration’s accounts.