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MFMA report: officials continue to squander municipal millions

By Thato Mahlangu Municipalities continue to waste billions of rands through corruption-related activities, the Auditor-General of South African (AGSA) revealed on Tuesday. Auditor-general (AG) Kimi Makwetu said in his 2018/19 Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) audit report that municipalities should ask themselves if they are investing in qualitative and preventative measures which would help to Read more >

CSOs write to SADC urging action against Covid-19 corruption

Corruption Watch is one of nine signatories to an open letter to the secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in which they commend measures taken so far to address the spread of the Covid-19 virus on the continent, and propose 10 guidelines for addressing potential corruption that might occur during the management of Read more >

Auditor-General has eye on Covid-19 relief package

The Auditor-General (AGSA) has briefed Parliament on its role during the Covid-19 disaster, and given insight into possible delays in the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) audits. Both audit processes are crucial to managing the use of the public purse as they track and identify irregular spending, among others. Read more >

CW condemns SASSA’s pointless litigation

Corruption Watch (CW) condemns a decision by the South African Social Services Agency (SASSA) to withdraw from opposition to legal action that challenged a R317-million payment to social grants distributor Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) on the basis that it was irregular. CW views the conduct as wasteful of public resources, following two years of litigation Read more >

Cautious budget reflects political landscape

A lot can happen in a political year, and anyone holding Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s last two budget speeches side by side can see evidence of this. Gordhan presented his 2016/17 budget under extreme political pressure on Wednesday – amid some speculation that it may very well be his last – and thus it lacked Read more >

Makwetu: improved MFMA audit results for 2014/2015

For the first time in the history of the province, a Free State municipality has achieved a clean audit. This is one of the facts that came out of the latest local government audit report, presented by auditor-general Kimi Makwetu on Wednesday. Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality shares its status with 53 other municipalities that impressed Read more >

AG: municipal supply chain management problematic

Municipal employees, councillors, their relatives and broader public servants benefited from municipality contracts worth over R800-million between 2013 and 2014. This was revealed by auditor-general Kimi Makwetu in his latest local government audit report released on Wednesday. Of the amount, the biggest chunk – R781-million – went to close relatives of employees and councillors. The Read more >

Public Works comes clean on misuse of public funds

The Department of Public Works has confirmed extensive misuse of public funds within its ranks – at a media briefing last week, Minister Thulas Nxesi said that investigations had uncovered a shocking R35-billion in wasteful expenditure, some of it going back 13 years. Public Works (DPW) is responsible for managing the accommodation needs of government Read more >

Community could have benefited from Nkandla

Public protector Thuli Madonsela yesterday released her long awaited final report into the alleged irregular and excessive expenditure on security upgrades at Nkandla, President Jacob Zuma’s private residence in KwaZulu-Natal. Madonsela’s investigation is not the first to have been conducted on the controversial construction project. In October 2012 public works minister Thulas Nxesi ordered an Read more >