MONDAY, 5.30PM
A PERFORMANCE report by the auditor general has revealed that the SA National Defence Force wasted millions of rands buying unnecessary aircraft components and spare parts that became obsolete.
The report, one of five carried out on national government departments in 1995/96, found stock worth an estimated R820-million had been kept in storage for three years without being used, while components worth R6,111-billion had not been timeously or properly accounted for.
The performance audit on the SA Defence Force focused mainly on vehicle management and certain aspects related to 1 Military Hospital, as well as to the administration of aircraft components and spare parts.
In respect of the first two items, recommendations for improved controls made in 1991/2 had still not been implemented, the auditor-general said. Computerised stock values were also found to be unreliable, as incorrect values had been allocated to stock. “At a specific unit the total price difference between the maximum estimated unit price and the prices on the system for only four items amounted to R66-million,” the report said.