The National Treasury says the Department of Social Development has incurred R15.134 billion in unauthorised expenditure since the 2019/2020 financial year.
National Treasury officials were making their presentation to members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) is conducting an oversight visit at National Treasury in Pretoria.
Members of Parliament have heard that the unauthorised expenditure followed the president’s declaration of a COVID-19 National State of Disaster and the subsequent announcements on grants that were not budgeted for.
“This was not a function of negligence on the part of the department but on emergency response required and for that reason, we recommend that this unauthorised expenditure be financed as a direct charge against the national revenue fund and this is because it was already budgeted for within that financial year and not an error on the part of the department,” says Public Finance Director at National Treasury Pebetsi Maleka.
Parliament Standing Committee on Public Accounts #SCOPA is conducting an oversight visit at the National Treasury today to get a briefing on some of the unauthorised expenditures incurred by national departments by the end of the 2021/2022 financial year #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/pCquSkp9by
— Katlego Legodi (@KatlegoLegodi_) June 22, 2023
EFF Member of Parliament Mzwanele Manyi has joined #SCOPA MPs at the National Treasury oversight visit today and has called for Treasury to do better in upgrading its systems in a bid to flag and block unauthorised expenditures picked up from various Gov departments #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/W2gtO6857y
— Katlego Legodi (@KatlegoLegodi_) June 22, 2023
Parliament Standing Committee on Public Accounts #SCOPA has raised concerns on the growing unauthorised expenditures coming from various government departments. Some of the expenditures date back to as far as the year 2006 #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/dK7IjzVS7F
— Katlego Legodi (@KatlegoLegodi_) June 22, 2023
