The KZN Transport Department has come under fire for irregular expenditure. Picture: Steve Buissinne /Pixabay
Image: Steve Buissinne /Pixabay
Officials in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport have been given an ultimatum to address irregular expenditure amounting to billions of rand or resign from their positions.
IFP member of the provincial legislature and member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Lourens de Klerk, gave the officials a tongue-lashing, accusing them of not taking the issues raised regarding the irregular expenditure seriously and calling for their resignation.
“We all know that the departments of Education, Health, and Transport are the ones that report irregular expenditure. Why do you have irregular expenditure? Just follow the law,” said De Klerk.
Other Scopa members also voiced their unhappiness about the issue. Over the years, the department has accumulated a staggering R33 billion in irregular expenditure, one of the highest among KZN government departments.
This irregular expenditure is a result of, among other things, projects not being delivered on time, government programmes to uplift small businesses being struck down by courts (thereby being classified as irregular expenditure), and the failure to renew contracts with service providers on time when they expire but allowing them to continue running.
The department had appeared before Scopa recently to update the committee on the work that had been done to address concerns raised in previous meetings. During the meeting, it emerged that while irregular expenditure was on the decline compared to previous years, it remains a serious issue.
The department argued that it has implemented measures to prevent the occurrence of irregular expenditure, which have yielded a significant reduction over the past three financial years – dropping from R4.303 billion in 2021/22, R3.022 billion in 2022/23, to R1.686 billion in the 2023/24 financial year.
The department’s report revealed that it is scrutinising close to R8 billion incurred in irregular expenditure over the past few years. The department said it was probing irregular expenditure totalling R789 million, with investigations set to commence on irregular expenditure amounting to R7.1 billion. It has submitted a request for condonation to the National Treasury for irregular expenditure worth R8.7 billion, launched a forensic investigation into R17.8 million of the irregular expenditure, and completed an investigation into irregular expenditure amounting to R483 million, for which it is awaiting consequence management.
De Klerk said: “It seems to me you (department officials) do not take that expenditure seriously. This is the same issue that comes up year in and year out. To me, it shows you have no interest in dealing with your problem of irregular expenditure. Irregular expenditure means that the law has not been followed. For instance, one matter involves a security contract that was renewed without following a proper process after it expired. It is very easy for someone to go to the supplier and say, ‘We will keep this going without a new process, but just give me something on the side’ (bribe),” he said.
Mthandeni Dlungwane, another committee member, said there had been a lot of improvement in the department. “After so many years, balancing your books with service delivery is not easy. There will always be concerns, and the report shows a number of initiatives that have been implemented. There is still a lot more that needs to be done by yourselves, and we hope in this financial year we will see another clean audit.”
Scopa chairperson Tim Brauteseth said the committee was disappointed with the Department of Transport’s response on cutting irregular expenditure, especially when read alongside the details provided on consequence management. “The department officials showed scant knowledge of their own disciplinary matters and seemed content with matters taking months and years to reach a conclusion,” he said.
Transport head of department Siboniso Mbhele responded: “We apologise if we have not met the expectations of the members in terms of our responses.”