Gauteng’s 37 forensic investigations expose extent of government rot

1 August 2017

In the 2016/17 financial year, 37 forensic audits were commissioned by Gauteng Provincial Government Departments into issues such as procurement irregularities, irregular expenditure, irregular overtime pay and fraud.

These investigations encompass ten departments, with some, like the Department of Health having incurred up to eight investigations.

The respective departments and their investigations are as follow:

Given the nature of these investigations, it is deeply concerning that the public purse in Gauteng has been allowed to be abused by individuals working within the system – who instead of doing their jobs, have seen fit to benefit themselves.

This has a severe impact on the roll out of much-needed services to the residents of Gauteng who are serviced by these provincial departments. All aspects of residents’ lives are affected, from education, health, policing and much-needed infrastructure expansion and maintenance, which in turn creates jobs.

In 2015, the Public Service Commission identified 122 cases of financial misconduct amounting to R67 million. Of these, only 3% were referred for criminal prosecution.

Given ANC-run provincial government’s soft approach to tackling fraud and corruption head-on, the DA will be submitting questions to each department to ascertain the status of each investigation, as well as the disciplinary action that should follow their completion.

The DA will keep the pressure on this administration to take action against those who are implicated in these investigations as accountability is one of the fundamental pillars of building a corruption-free government.

Issued by Mike Moriarty, DA Gauteng Chief Whip, 1 August 2017