Latest news with #WouterWessels
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Here's how much National Treasury has spent on consultants in two years
The National Treasury does not sign contracts directly with the consultants. The National Treasury has spent hundreds of millions of rands on consultants for specialised projects over the past two years. This was revealed in a written parliamentary reply from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) MP Wouter Wessels requested details on whether the National Treasury had appointed any consultants in the last two years, including the nature of their work and the duration of their contracts. National Treasury's spend on consultants Godongwana detailed an extensive list of service providers and revealed that R350 million (R350 902 028.62) was paid to at least 30 consultancy firms between April 2023 and June this year. From April to June 2025 alone, contracts worth more than R20 million were signed. These included a R6.3 million three-year deal with Ston Infrastructure Services to support provincial treasuries in infrastructure delivery, R4.6 million to Nexor 312 for local government infrastructure management, and R3 million to Thovu Construction Group for architectural space planning services. Among the biggest beneficiaries was OBT Advisory, awarded a R161.9 million, five-year contract in March 2024 to support and maintain the Treasury's back-office system for its asset and liability management division. ALSO READ: Almost 40 municipalities facing sanctions from Treasury over mismanagement Tipp Focus Holding secured a R96.3 million contract to enhance and maintain the central supplier database for the office of the chief procurement officer over the same period. Other multimillion-rand consultancy contracts went to firms such as Akhile Management and Consulting, Mntambo Financial Consulting, Luta Management Services, Stangra Investment, S and G Business Consulting, and Propellius. These companies were primarily engaged to review, amend, and prepare Financial Recovery Plans for financially distressed municipalities across the country. The affected municipalities included Mangaung, Madibeng, Sekhukhune, Emfuleni, Thabazimbi, Modimolle, Govan Mbeki, Thaba Chweu, Musina, and Phalaborwa. Individual contracts for the work generally fell in the range of R1 million to R2.7 million each. More contracts The South African arm of the international advisory firm Rothschild and Co was paid R2.5 million in 2023 for debt structuring and capital markets advice during Eskom's debt relief process. Other notable projects included a R3 million contract awarded to PTP Integrated to source a service provider from the Government Employees Pension Fund and Public Investment Corporation panel for professional services on software-related projects within Treasury's Information and Communication Technology unit over a 12-month period. ALSO READ: R279 million budgeted for National Treasury's building rentals and parking spaces Former National Treasury deputy director-general and current adviser, Ismail Momoniat, was also contracted twice – first in 2024 for R1.38 million and again in 2025 for a smaller R10,563.57 engagement – to lead South Africa's efforts to exit the Financial Action Task Force greylist and support related anti-corruption initiatives. Several more contracts were awarded to enhance municipal supply chain management compliance, develop women empowerment programmes, and support local government infrastructure delivery oversight. National Treasury doesn't sign contracts directly with consultants Responding to concerns about whether consultants were filling in for vacancies, Godongwana stated that all appointments were for 'specific and time-bound projects' and not due to staffing shortages. 'No consultants are appointed as a result of vacancies. National Treasury follows the public service regulations to fill positions,' he said. The minister added that the National Treasury signs the service level agreements with the company, not directly with the consultants. NOW READ: Government under fire for splashing on employees' salaries
IOL News
09-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Parliament hearing told that audit crisis in municipalities 'linked to political leadership failures'
Left to right: Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Auditor-General, Wouter Wessels, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Zweli Mkhize, and chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers. Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Media Dr Zweli Mkhize said that the latest audit outcomes presented by the Auditor-General have shown that the financial and governance crisis in municipalities across the country is deepening, and has dire consequences for service delivery and public trust. Mkhize, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), was discussing the local government 2023/24 audit outcomes during the briefing held by the parliamentary Governance Cluster Oversight committees on Monday. Mkhize was joined by chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers, and chairperson of the Standing Committee on Auditor-General, Wouter Wessels. The briefing comes after Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke found that only 41 municipalities obtained clean audits in the 2023/24 financial year. Maluleke tabled the 2023/24 general report on the local government audit outcomes in Parliament almost two weeks ago. 'While 59 municipalities have improved their audit outcomes since 2020/21 (the last year of the previous administration), 40 have regressed,' Maluleke said. The AG's report also showed that 113 municipalities operated with unfunded budgets and 285 material irregularities with an estimated financial loss amounting to R8.7 billion were identified. Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Mkhize said that the integrity and functionality of local government are under immense strain. He said it was unacceptable that, despite municipalities having spent over R1.4 billion on having consultants prepare their financial statements, 59% of those submitted for auditing contained material misstatements. 'It is unacceptable that such exorbitant spending yields so little value. Even more troubling is that many of these municipalities already have permanent staff tasked with performing this work. What we are seeing is not just waste but a failure of systems, leadership and accountability in too many of our municipalities.' He said that the 113 municipalities currently operating on unfunded budgets are planning expenditures far beyond what they can credibly finance, and that this extreme recklessness. 'It amounts to planning for failure. It undermines infrastructure delivery, which has been identified as a key lever for economic recovery and job creation, and contributes to poor project execution, delays, cost overruns, and, in many cases, substandard workmanship,' Mkhize said. 'As a committee, we believe that the shortage of financial skills at the local government level is at a crisis point. This is not merely a technical shortfall, but it strikes at the heart of municipal functionality and the government's ability to deliver services where they are needed most.' He said poor audit outcomes are often rooted in failures of political leadership, weak consequence management and a culture of impunity. Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Zweli Mkhize. Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Media Mkhize said the failure by almost 85% of municipalities to meet even the most basic governance standards directly affects communities in areas such as sanitation, roads, housing, and other essential services. 'In parallel, we must urgently tackle issues of procurement irregularities, corruption and fraud. The use of uncompetitive and unfair supply chain processes continues unabated, as is evident from the AG's report. It is alarming that municipalities continue to award contracts to individuals employed in other spheres of government, despite explicit prohibitions in law.' He explained that Parliament, through the Portfolio Committee on COGTA, will systematically intensify our oversight visits, focusing on the worst-performing municipalities per province and working closely with the executive at all levels to reverse this trajectory. 'As I said before, the committee is no longer interested in excuses. We are calling for performance, consequences, and the prioritisation of quality service delivery to our people.'
