AUDITOR General Kimi Makwetu has called on government leaders to take urgent action to halt the trend of disappointing audit results, restore accountability and prevent mismanagement of public funds.
Releasing the 2018-19 general report for national and provincial departments as well as their entities, Makwetu said political leaders, accounting officers, authorities and oversight structures must take immediate action to restore government’s accountability to the people of South Africa.
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“This could be done by acting on the outcomes of the recent audits, dealing effectively with material irregularities that have to be identified, and implementing preventative controls to turn the tide of undesirable stewardship over public funds,” he said.
The Auditor General’s report revealed that a total of 28 Material Irregularities (MIs) were identified at eight of the auditees, which resulted in a financial loss of R2.81 billion.
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“Of this amount, R2.51 billion is known as the accounting officer or authority quantified the loss, and the remainder is an estimate of the loss. Of the known loss, R2.2 billion is the money expected to be lost as a result of the irregularities in the purchase of locomotives by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa),” the report states.
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