Wasteful Expenditure Monitor races past R200 million
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today updated its Wasteful Expenditure Monitor, and the total now stands at R202 million, after an increase of R29.9 million.
The increases are largely due to wasteful and fruitless expenditure, as identified by the Auditor-General in his 2009 reports on a number of national departments and public entities.
The expenditure monitor is available here.
Of particular interest, is a report, costing R10 million, which was commissioned by the KZN provincial administration into ineffective policing, but never actually materialised. Money for nothing, as the saying goes.
There are also a number of new ministerial vehicles which have been included in this update. True they are not as exorbitant as some of the purchases made in the past, like that bought for the Minister of Higher Education for example, but they remain expensive none the less. The DA-run Western Cape government has put a block on the purchase of all new ministerial vehicles.
The poor management of public money by government departments is of particular concern. It is a problem that seems to repeat every year. And while the sums involved are relatively small compared to a department or entities' entire budget, they are hardly insubstantial. Certainly they all add up.
The ANC government in general and President Jacob Zuma in particular have made repeated commitments to reducing wasteful expenditure. Unfortunately that commitment is yet to be met by the appropriate action.
The full list of updated items follows:
|
Amount |
Details |
Department Responsible |
|
R9 800 000 |
The KwaZulu-Natal government, the MEC for community safety and head of the department can't explain the waste of R10-million on "a commission of inquiry into ineffective policing", from 2005 that produced no results - not even a final report. |
Commission of Inquiry chairperson, Advocate Stix Mdladla |
|
R672 938 |
Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises purchased an Iridium Silver Mercedes-Benz E350 |
Department of Public Enterprises |
|
R1 625 366 |
Deputy Minister of Communications, Dina Pule purchased a Mercedes Benz GL320 CDI at a cost of R868 000 for the Pretoria office, and an Audi Q7 4.2 TDI at a cost of R757 366 for the Cape Town office.
|
Deputy Minister of Communications, Dina Pule |
|
R661 646 |
The department suffered a total loss of R661 646 as a result of the changing of banking details (due to possible fraudulent activity). |
Department of Public Works |
|
R101 408 |
Wasteful expenditure recorded in the 2008/09 National Treasury Annual Report |
National Treasury |
|
R2.2 million |
As reported in the Annual Report - wasteful expenditure of R2.2 million for defective work on the construction of the Eesterus Clinic and the Sebokeng Folateng. |
Gauteng Department of Health |
|
R4.8 million |
Wasteful expenditure recorded in the 2008/09 Land Affairs annual report |
Department of Land Affairs |
|
R4 587 000 |
Wasteful expenditure recorded in the 2008/09 Department of Defence Annual Report |
Department of Defence |
|
R4 979 000 |
Wasteful expenditure recorded in the 2008/09 Sport and Recreation Annual Report |
Department of Sport and Recreation |
|
R496 371 |
Wasteful expenditure recorded in the 2008/09 Department of Arts and Culture Annual Report |
Department of Arts and Culture |
Chapter 1 of The Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) of 1999, defines fruitless and wasteful expenditure as "expenditure which was made in vain and would have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised". It is clear from the abundance of information available from annual reports, and general conduct of the ANC-led government that reasonable care is not being exercised by those responsible.
As part of its oversight role as the official opposition, the DA introduced the Wasteful Expenditure Monitor as a means of measuring the extent of the ANC government's fruitless and wasteful expenditure of public funds, and to demonstrate how often the needs of the ANC elite are put before the needs of ordinary South Africans.
The DA once again calls on government departments and members of the executive to do the right thing and, following the example of the DA provincial government in the Western Cape, implement measures to monitor and cut back on unnecessary government spending. We will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary additions to the Wasteful Expenditure Monitor as and when they occur.
The DA MPs will be asking the respective ministers for details on the wasteful expenditure in their national departments, and for explanations regarding what is being done to address the matter.
Statement issued by Lindiwe Mazibuko, MP, Democratic Alliance national spokesperson, October 6 2009
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