Auditor-General highlights rampant R1bn irregular expenditure in Johannesburg
Image: Thobile Mathonsi / Independent Newspapers
The Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke has drawn attention to the alarming reality of irregular expenditure within the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), revealing that the municipality was leading the nation in this regard with contracts exceeding R1 billion awarded to contractors with connections to officials.
In a webinar hosted by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) Conversations, Maluleke pointed out that the malpractice observed in Johannesburg is not an isolated issue, but part of a broader trend seen across major municipalities in South Africa.
However, she said a concerning aspect of this issue related to existing National Treasury regulations that allow municipalities to pay start-ups in advance for transactions not exceeding R2 000. She highlighted that these regulations may unintentionally facilitate corrupt practices within the CoJ.
"The CoJ has high irregular expenditure year-on-year and it does not seem to be a situation that is getting under control. So it raises questions about whether the Council, the Speaker, the Mayor are decisive," Maluleke said.
"It is undesirable, it raises a series of conflicts. It raises the question if the contract is in the interest of the city or in the interest of the the individual concerned."
Maluleke emphasised that while the law did not expressly prohibit municipalities from engaging in transactions with family members of councillors or employees, there was a vital obligation to disclose such dealings, particularly when they exceed R2 000.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
"We have got to look at different players in the ecosystem of accountability and our analysis is local government is a different sphere of government from provincial and national government, but they are not meant to be autonomous," she said.
"They are not meant to operate as islands. These are public resources. We find too many municipalities do things that nobody hold them accountable for. And then they all wait for the AG to come every year they all lament and then we start the thing again next year."
Maluleke said her experience in recent years showed that when accounting officers faced scrutiny, they were often transferred, creating instability that hampers accountability.
"Our experience in the last few years is that accounting officers where we are zeroing-in to issue a certificate of debt, they get moved around and because we dont hire or fire them," she said.
"What you find is that a Council will keep that role very unstable, make someone act for six months another one for six months. It just delays the process. So it might delay the AG but worse of all it continues to weaken the institution. It must often be deliberate."
Maluleke said accounting officers too often did not go into the details of the plans that they sign off on.
"All too often they don't do that. They might tick a box and say we have seen the plan, but you never seen evidence of suggestions that should be amended so that there is coherence for a province," she said.
"No wonder then some of the plans are cut and paste jobs by consultants, and yet they pass and then when they are being implemented, all manner of adjustments are made during the year, which runs into a different costs far way above what it should have cost.
"We have got to ask where is the provincial legislature when we have gone into this. We find some of them did not know they were supposed to get certain reports let alone look at them. Sometimes they get them bit did not do anything with them.
"I believe we must be much more impatient with municipal leadership that simply does not submit financial statements because these are public funds. And so the very least you can do, whether or not the statements are credible, is to submit them. It's something we should never tolerate, that and disclaimers is something we must leave behind. 30 years into democracy that should not be our experience."
BUSINESS REPORT
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Defence in Meyiwa Murder Asks for Charges to Be Dropped as Trial Pauses Again
Staff Reporter | Published 7 hours ago The five men accused of killing Senzo Meyiwa, Muzikawukhulelwa Sthemba Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthobisi Prince Ncube, Mthokoziseni Ziphozonke Maphisa, and Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli appear in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. Image: Picture: Oupa Mokoena Independent Newspapers The murder trial of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa took another unexpected turn on Thursday, with lawyers for the five accused telling the court they plan to apply to have all charges dropped. This happened right after the state officially closed its case in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. State Prosecutor George Baloyi stood up and told the court, 'It is precisely three years since the state started leading evidence. We now formally close our case.' This marks the end of the prosecution's side of the trial. Now, it is up to the defence to decide whether the accused will testify or whether they will try to stop the trial completely by arguing that the state has failed to prove anything against them. Defence lawyers said they plan to bring an application under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act. This law allows a judge to dismiss charges if the state has not shown enough evidence to continue with the trial. Charles Mnisi, who represents accused number three, said they were waiting on a decision from the Legal Aid Board to provide funds for the application. That decision is expected by 6 August. Mnisi then asked the judge to postpone the matter to 7 August, and Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng agreed. But Thursday's court session was not just about legal arguments. There was also more drama over the treatment of accused number five, Fisokuhle Ntuli. Earlier in the week, Ntuli told the court he was being mistreated at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria. He said he was not allowed to speak to his lawyer or family and was denied basic items he needed in prison. Judge Mokgoatlheng ordered that Ntuli be transferred to Leeuwkop Correctional Centre in Sandton. On Thursday, top officials from Correctional Services came to court to explain the situation. They said Ntuli had been moved to the high-security C Max section of the prison after he was allegedly caught with a cellphone during a search on 8 July. Ntuli denied this and said it was not true. His lawyer, Zandile Mshololo, told the court that his rights were being violated. She insisted that the court's transfer order must remain in place and that her client had been treated unfairly. The area prison boss, Emmanuel Khoza, admitted there had been delays and mistakes but said the court's order had made it harder for the prison to manage discipline. He warned that they might appeal the judge's decision. 'We feel disempowered,' he said. 'But we apologise and commit to making sure the court runs smoothly.' Judge Mokgoatlheng did not back down. 'You can bring a formal application if you want the decision changed,' he said. 'But for now, my order stands.' Mnisi also backed the judge, saying courts have the power to run their processes. He blamed the correctional centre for delaying the court each day. 'This court starts late because accused persons are not brought on time,' he said. The five men on trial — Ntuli, Mnisi's client Mncube, plus Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Ntanzi, and Mthokoziseni Maphisa — are all accused of being involved in the murder of Meyiwa, who was shot at the Vosloorus home of his girlfriend, singer Kelly Khumalo, in 2014. All five have pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. With the state's case now closed and the trial postponed again, the spotlight will now be on the defence. If their application to drop the charges succeeds, it could bring the trial to an early end. The court is set to resume on 7 August.
IOL News
10 hours ago
- IOL News
'Disbanding crime-fighting Scorpions was a blunder'
Retired Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has stated that the Hawks, a crime-fighting unit, are not equipped for the task. He criticised the ANC's decision to disband the Scorpions. Image: Picture: Timothy Bernard/Independent Newspapers This week, former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo reignited an old debate by stating that the Hawks, a crime-fighting unit, are not equipped for the task. He criticised the ANC's decision to disband the Scorpions. Speaking at the South African Council of Churches' national church leaders' anti-corruption conference in Johannesburg. ''In the early 2000s, we had the Scorpions, which were very effective in fighting corruption. The criminals had begun to fear them.'In 2007, at the ANC elective conference, a resolution was taken to disband them. ''And they were disbanded. The results are there for all of us to see what happened about the levels of corruption, because I don't believe the Hawks, which were said to have taken their place, are up to that job,' he was quoted by IOL. Next Stay Close ✕ He said the State Capture Commission, which he chaired, in its report, refers to several cases that were lodged in 2017 by the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), which was chaired by Popo Molefe. 'We all know that corruption at Prasa has been there for ages, and nothing effective is being done. This board had gone to the Hawks and reported these criminal activities, and there were statements given. ''At the time of preparing the report of the (Zondo) Commission, in early 2022, which was about five years later, there was nobody who was arrested, and the Hawks said they were still investigating,' he added. The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), commonly known as the Scorpions, was a specialised unit of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa formed by President Thabo Mbeki, tasked with investigating and prosecuting high-level and priority crimes, including organised crime and corruption. The Scorpions pursued a "prosecution-led" approach or "troika model", meaning that investigators, forensic analysts, and prosecutors worked together on each case – investigators collected evidence for study by analysts, and both were directed by the needs of prosecutors in building a legally strong case. However, this model was criticised for undermining "the separation of powers" between investigators and prosecutors. Between 2005 and 2007, they initiated 368 investigations, completed 264, and prosecuted 214, with a conviction rate of 85%; during that period, they also seized R1 billion in assets and contraband worth R1 billion. Political expert, Sandile Swana, agreed with Zondo that the dissolution of the Scorpions during the 2007 ANC conference was a blunder: '''The Polokwane Conference was the opening of the floodgates of corruption. Now, whoever Zondo had been, the Sergeant General or the Professor of UCT, the Principal of UCT or anywhere else, the person of prominence, commenting on how we have allowed ourselves to be corrupted and accommodated corruption. '''The Hawks were a defamed scorpion, a scorpion that had no teeth. And as we can see from the assertions by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi now, the police as a whole is captured on the one hand by the mafia organised crime, on the other by politicians, and the policing in South Africa is ineffectual in any capacity whatsoever.'' Swana pointed the finger at the unions and churches, and the nation for not defending the Scorpions. ''So the public, those who were not part of the ANC factions, needed to rise. The South African Council of Churches, the civil society, all those, the unions, COSATU and others. Instead, they supported this dissolution." A few months ago, African National Congress (ANC) stalwart and former premier of Limpopo, Stanley Mathabatha, made an admission about the Scorpions: 'The mistake was to destroy the good structures that we had established to exert the authority of the state, for example, the Scorpions. I still believe it was a fundamental mistake to do away with the Scorpions. I was there (at the Polokwane conference), hence I am owning up to the mistake,' Mathabatha was qouted by IOL. Asked for comment on Zondo's remarks, ANC National Spokesperson, Mahlangu Bhengu, said: ''The ANC does not often respond to the views of retired members of the Judiciary. We believe there are checks and balances in place to address prosecutorial independence by established institutions, one of which is IDAC. '' IDAC is the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption.''We must continue to strengthen all three parts of the value chain in our criminal justice system, i.e, investigations, prosecutions and judicial work,'' she added.
Mail & Guardian
11 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Finance MMC job in Jozi a political hotbed
Who's next?: Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero. (X) The delay in appointing a finance MMC in the City of Johannesburg stems from the perception that the position is seen as a stepping stone to the mayoral seat, making it a hotly contested post, ANC regional sources the party due to hold its Johannesburg regional conference in September, two factions — referred to […] This content is restricted to subscribers only . Join the M&G Community Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently. Subscription enables: - M&G community membership - independent journalism - access to all premium articles & features - a digital version of the weekly newspaper - invites to subscriber-only events - the opportunity to test new online features first Already a subscriber?
