Parliament’s Public Enterprises Committee members have expressed outrage about irregular expenditure of more than 27 billion rand, accumulated over a couple of years by Eskom, Transnet and Alexco.
The Auditor-General’s office was briefing the oversight committee about the audit outcomes of the three entities for the financial year under review.
The audit outcomes of the three entities indicates an increase of more than R22 billion on irregular expenditure for the financial year under review.
In the previous financial year, it was more than four billion rand. Members of the committee are concerned. Steve Swart of the ACDP says this is worrying.
“This is not a pretty picture. It is disastrous, and how Chair can we improve our oversight? At what stage should we as parliament obtain management letters when you are addressing this with auditors.”
DA’s Public Enterprises spokesperson, Natasha Mazzone concurs. “The regression is not by one or two billion rand as one would sort of expect. The increase in irregular expenditure is 22 million rand, I mean this kind of money is obscene that this amount of money is allowed to be spent irregularly.”
External audit firms were criticised. Members of the committee wanted to know the reasons for their failure to pick up these irregularities, or what happened if they reported them. Committee chairperson, Lungi Mnganga Gcabashe…
“Where were you when all these were taking place as a contracted audit firm?”
The remaining four entities including South African Airways and South African Express that report to the committee are yet to submit their annual reports.
The external auditors have acknowledged that the amount of irregular expenditure might increase.
Scopa and Scoa Want Ministers and Directors-general Held Responsible for Appalling Audit Outcomes https://t.co/2A70uYM04h pic.twitter.com/KOZSlOrK4v
— Parliament of RSA (@ParliamentofRSA) October 10, 2018
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