Pretoria – Auditor General Kimi Makwetu has released the performance audit reports of pharmaceutical, water infrastructure and urban renewal projects.
Released on Wednesday, the reports highlight the challenges in projects that span across three sectors that are crucial to the running of the country.
Makwetu said the audit reports give vital insight, which indicates that challenges are not only experienced as a result of poor financial management.
“The fact that things do not work is not so much only about financial management. Some of these issues of irregular or wasteful expenditure are also caused by a lack of proper leadership, project management and supervision,” said Makwetu at a media briefing on Wednesday.
Pharmaceutical report
The pharmaceutical audit was conducted to look into the management of pharmaceuticals at the national and provincial Departments of Health.
The audit was undertaken to provide insights into the pharmaceutical value chain, which includes planning, procuring, storing and distributing pharmaceuticals to patients.
109 health institutions and 10 medical depots were visited over the past two years.
The audit found that some pharmaceuticals procured using national contracts were delivered late and staff at some health institutions did not record patients’ details and the medicines dispensed to them on the day of their visit. As a result, these institutions could not account for the pharmaceuticals dispensed.
In other instances, medicine was not stored at the required temperatures. There was also a shortage of pharmacists and pharmacist assistants.
Water infrastructure report
The Auditor General’s office initiated the audit into water infrastructure due to concerns raised by National Treasury and the South African Local Government Association around the water infrastructure programme of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The audit found that there were instances where unskilled labour was used, thereby affecting the performance of workers. The report noted that at a Tzaneen office, for example, only 20 of the 70 brush cutters had received job training.
The Auditor General recommended that unskilled labourers should receive training prior to the commencement of work.
Urban renewal report
The urban renewal audit of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements noted that the Winterveldt renewal project’s business plan for 2010/11 to 2015/16 stipulated a budget of R4.9 billion.
However, the budget allocation for 2010/11 could not be verified.
The common theme in all three reports is that the efficient and effective delivery of services is hampered by deficient leadership and oversight, funding, project management and operations as well as intergovernmental coordination.
Overall findings
The pharmaceutical report highlighted instances of poor communication between directorates responsible for planning, budgeting and pharmaceutical services. This resulted in a misalignment of the pharmaceutical budget and actual healthcare needs.
This was also the case in the performance audit of water infrastructure at the Department of Water and Sanitation. The report showed a trend of poor communication in the value chain.
The urban renewal programme at the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements was also affected by poor communication. The expectations of communities were raised before detailed planning was finalised and budgets secured.
Funding and supply chain management
Funding also affected the water infrastructure value chain, especially at municipal level in the water infrastructure report, while urban renewal projects also had the same constraints.
While all three reports showed challenges with regards to supply chain management processes, the Auditor General said some institutions had improved on this.
“We noted a significant improvement in the payment to suppliers during the 2015/16 financial year,” Makwetu said.
Response of management
Makwetu said he is hopeful that the reports will trigger “the required momentum over time” to lead to improvement and better service delivery.
“One of the recommendations we highlighted is to encourage the adoption of good practises,” said Makwetu.
Makwetu also recognised leadership’s responsiveness to the outcomes of his audits.
“In all three instances, management committed to or initiated corrective action.”- SAnews.gov.za
