By Werner Pretorius – DA Public Accounts Spokesperson in the Free State Legislature
Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Werner Pretorius MPL and Sesotho soundbite by Jafta Mokoena MPL
The Democratic Alliance notes with concern the regression of the Free State Provincial Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport (CSR&T) from an unqualified audit opinion with findings in 2022/23 to a qualified audit opinion with findings in 2023/24. CSR&T is one of the three departments and entities of the provincial government that regressed in its audit opinion. The other regressing entities were that of fleet and the Free State Gambling, Liquor and Tourism Authority (FSGLTA).
Some of the major concerns flagged in the AG report on CSR&T include:
- The department was the largest contributor to irregular expenditure (IE), incurring a whopping R349 million in IE due to supply chain management (SCM) related issues, including non-compliance with SCM regulations and non-compliance with contract management as proper tender processes were not followed in all instances.
- Creditor payments in the fleet entity within CSR&T increased from 90 days to 137 days, far above the legislated 30-day period for payment to service providers.
- Continued non-compliance within the department, noting material misstatements in the submitted annual financial statements (AF), unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFW), and deficiencies in asset management. It is highly problematic that the non-compliance continues despite being raised by the AG for several years in a row.
- The slow response by management in implementing consequence management against officials suspected of being involved in unwanted expenditure.
The DA calls on the MEC to ensure consequence management is implemented throughout the department and that the department does not again incur R349 million on irregular expenditure due to non-compliance with contract and supply chain management (SCM). During the joint sitting members of the DA stressed the major role which the department must play in positively impacting the social and economic wellbeing of the province and its people. The DA was alarmed by the finding that the department “materially underspent their total budget by R74,676,000, mainly due to an underspending of the provincial roads maintenance grant by R104,052,000”. This material underspending is highly problematic as many provincial roads require urgent maintenance. Without quality roads in the province, investment, economic growth, and jobs will not be generated.
Another alarming revelation by the AG is the fact that not a single defaulting service provider or contractor currently blacklisted on the national database, and thus suspended from conducting further business with the state, was listed by the Free State Provincial Government. This raises questions about the seriousness of the ANC-run government in ending tender corruption in the Free State.
The MEC of CSR&T noted that he wants to see the road networks across the Free State as “construction sites” and “that the roads will be better” to benefit the Free State. Through various mechanisms in the legislature, the DA will keep the MEC to account for his promise. We will also probe the reasons for the weak mechanism for internal controls on asset management verification and supply chain management.
The DA calls for a culture shift in the department from doing “harm” to doing “good” in line with the expanded metrics of the AG. The DA welcomed the Department’s commitment to the culture shift and will continue to keep the department to account. In a DA-run Provincial government quality road and transport networks will be a top priority as key enablers of economic growth and job creation, and in ensuring the safety of our communities across the Free State.