Justin Arenstein
The Mpumalanga government has ordered a new investigation into the Motheo housing scandal after it expressed concern at the lack of financial controls in the national Department of Housing.
Mpumalanga public accounts chair Hein Mentz said this week Parliament has been requested to address a perceived absence of checks and balances. Confirming that he has already addressed the issue with his national counterpart, Mentz said his committee believes it is unacceptable that funds are released to provinces without verification that they are for approved projects.
Citing the R198-million Motheo housing scandal in the province last year as an example of the confusion surrounding exactly where national and provincial accountability for funds begins, Mentz said current control systems are “unsound”. His committee has requested the auditor general to determine whether the state received value for money.
The auditor general has also been requested to ensure there was no fruitless expenditure in the Motheo project.
“The request for transfer of this money was made without any motivation by the provincial government and, instead of being queried, the money was simply paid over because it didn’t exceed Mpumalanga’s allocated housing budget,” said Mentz.
“The committee finds it unacceptable that funds are requested without any indication of when the national department’s accounting responsibility stops and the provincial housing head becomes accountable.”