Health Dept incurs R165 m in irregular expenditure

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has condemned the inability of the Department of Health to improve on their audit outcomes as the institution reportedly received a qualified audit opinion for three consecutive years.
The committee on Friday raised concern about the increasing amount of contingency liabilities which is at R8 billion for the 2017/18 financial year. On irregular expenditure amounting to
R165 956 000, the department indicated that this was informed by strategic and unavoidable services such as performance of overtime above 30% as per the Department of Public Service and Administration and procurement of orthopaedic sets among others. The committee warned if it does not have a plan to mitigate the problem, it would strain the provincial fiscus beyond its limits.
It was learnt that National Treasury has recently instructed all government departments to cut their spending by 5% for the next financial year to ease the pressure on the fiscus. Scopa noted that the department was marred with the lack of consequence management. For the year under review no official was found guilty for misconduct and in their response the department indicated that the department’s financial status contributed to official’s misconduct. It was revealed that some officials were served with letters of intention to be disciplined but the committee felt that they are undermined by the department since the letters attached as evidence did not bear signatures of the recipients.

The department also had 32 Scopa Resolutions of which they have only fully implemented 11 and have failed to report progress in the Provincial Legislature for the past four years. The committee could not get sufficient responses from the department on plans they intend to put in place to strengthen internal controls. The department was requested to submit to the committee a comprehensive contingency liabilities plan, a consequence management plan for doctors and other medical personnel who have been charged for medical negligence and a plan to mitigate accruals and payables by tomorrow (Friday).
The department indicated that they started the 217/18 financial year with accruals and payable to the amount of R998 million with 26 425 transactions on Equitable Share, Goods and Services from the 2016/17 financial year.

Story/photos: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za