Pretoria – Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa says disciplinary action will be taken against officials found guilty of irregular and wasteful expenditure in his department.
The minister, who has recently taken up the top post in the Arts and Culture Ministry, has submitted a written reply to a question raised by a member of the opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The question sought details on all irregular and wasteful expenditure in the department from 1 April 2009 to date.
The amount of irregular expenditure was zero in the 2009/10 financial year and has exponentially increased from R3.6 million in 2010/11; R8.8 million in 2011/12 and to R95.5 million in 2012/13.
In the financial year ending 31 March 2014, the irregular expenditure is disclosed at R171 million.
The expenditure over the years has been mainly due to supply chain related matters, which include consultants being appointed without following due processes and lack of competitive bidding processes.
Furthermore, there are other causes such as the use of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Project funds without approval from National Treasury, breach of contract and payment for goods that were never delivered.
In a written statement, Minister Mthethwa acknowledged awareness of the problems and spelt out the steps that he has taken to address the matter.
“Since coming into office, I have identified the problems raised by the member in his question. As a result, I have convened a meeting with the Auditor-General to get a further understanding of the issues around irregular as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
“The meeting with the Auditor-General confirmed what we picked up as problems. I have further engaged with the department’s officials, internal audit and our audit committee to provide responses to the issues identified,” said the Minister Mthethwa.
The minister further reiterated that action will be taken against guilty officials.
“My view is that those responsible for incurring this irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure must face the full might of the law. We will endeavour to recover the amounts involved,” he said.
In the meeting with the Auditor-General, it was noted that the department will receive a qualified opinion for the 2013/14 financial year, due to the incompleteness of the disclosed irregular expenditure.
“We shall institute the appropriate measures to prevent this,” Minister Mthethwa said. - SAnews.gov.za
