EFF Statement on Auditor General’s report on government overspending

28 November 2024

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is angered but unsurprised by the damning findings of the Auditor General, Tsakani Maluleke, on the government's rampant financial mismanagement and overspending. The Auditor General's report reveals a staggering R38.8 billion in unauthorised expenditure during the 2023-24 financial year, coupled with R49.5 billion in irregular expenditure—an alarming rise from the R27.4 billion reported the previous year and a sharp contrast to the R13.65 billion recorded in 2019-20.

This exponential increase highlights the entrenched culture of corruption and lawlessness within govemment departments and public entities, where accountability is virtually non-existent. The EFF condemns this egregious misuse of public funds, particularly in the face of ongoing crises in healthcare and social services. While billions are squandered or redirected into the pockets of corrupt officials and their business associates, South Africa's most vulnerable citizens are left to suffer. Children continue to die of malnutrition, hospitals lack critical resources, and the poor are denied access to basic services, yet the government continues to waste public funds on fraudulent deals and inflated contracts.

The Auditor General's findings highlight a broader pattern of neglect and corruption.

Over the past five years, the government lost more than R 14.3 billion due to payments for goods and services that were never delivered and the ineffective use of resources.

Shockingly, only R3.3 billion of this has been recovered. This gap represents a failure of leadership and accountability within government departments. As the Auditor General herself stated, lazy and errant accounting officers continue to allow irregular expenditure to roll over year after year, inflating the problem and embedding a culture of impunity.

In a glaring example of misplaced priorities, R700 million was paid to a service provider for training that was never delivered in the energy and water sectors, demonstrating the deep-rooted corruption in procurement processes. This type of reckless spending, combined with a lack of oversight, is symptomatic of a govemment that prioritises the enrichment of a corrupt elite over the needs of the people.

The Auditor General also exposed the ongoing financial chaos within public entities such as the Compensation Fund, which has failed to submit proper financial statements for over a decade, despite managing billions of rands in employer contributions. This lack of accountability in critical sectors undermines service delivery and erodes public trust. The Compensation Fund alone saw RI 1 billion flow through its coffers this past year, yet it remains one of the worst-performing entities, with no clear plan to rectify its governance failures.

The National Treasury itself has failed in its mandate to safeguard public funds and ensure fiscal discipline. This failure enables this rampant looting of state resources, as such high levels of irregular, wasteful, and fruitless expenditure often lead to fraud and corruption. Treasury's inability to enforce financial controls and accountability measures has created an environment where public funds are treated as a free-for-all by corrupt officials and their business partners.

Equally complicit is Parliament, which has consistently failed to rein in departments that waste public money. The Government of National Unity (GNU) protects public servants and deployees who are looting state resources. Whenever the EFF and other progressive forces attempt to hold these criminals accountable, they are shielded by the ruling coalition. This protection of corrupt officials undermines the oversight function of Parliament and betrays the trust of the South African people.

With the GNU now including the DA, a party whose sole agenda is to protect white interests and entrench white privilege, the situation will only deteriorate further. The DA has already shown they are willing to meet, if not exceed, the ANC's ridiculous levels of corruption. We have already witnessed this in the R2.6 billion increase in printing matric exam papers, a blatant act of corruption aimed at enriching their business partners, and in John Steenhuisen's shameless attempts at cadre deployment by appointing unqualified staff who do not meet minimum requirements.

The Auditor General rightly pointed out that South Africa cannot afford this culture of non-compliance, especially given the country's dismal economic growth, projected to average only 1.8% over the next three years. Every Rand wasted on corruption is a Rand stolen from the poor. It is a Rand that could have been used to improve healthcare, create jobs, or provide social support to struggling families.

This government has repeatedly demonstrated that it cannot be trusted with public resources. The Auditor General's report is yet another indictment of a system that prioritises the enrichment of a corrupt elite over the needs of the people.

Issued by Leigh-Ann Mathys, National Spokesperson, EFF, 28 November 2024