The Public Service Commission (PSC) has raised concerns about the Gauteng health department’s persistent failure to pay suppliers timeously after it emerged that over R5.1 billion in invoices has not been paid on time.

Information provided by the PSC to the Gauteng provincial legislature’s portfolio committee on Finance showed that at the end of the first quarter of 2025/26 (March-June 2025) no department was able to fully pay service providers within the required 30 days.

The provincial health department remains the major culprit in terms of the highest for late and non-payment of the service providers since it only paid 11% of its invoices on time, according to the commission.

The PSC stated that between March and June this year, the department paid about R2.45bn after 30 days and R2.66bn had not been paid. In the previous quarter (January-March 2025), the department recorded 51% of invoices older than 30 days and not paid, which was the highest number.

During this period, more than R2.46bn was paid after 30 days while another R4.12bn was not paid at all.

The challenges faced by the department were attributed mainly to not having a chief financial officer (CFO) by the PSC.

“The Department of Health has since advertised posts including the long vacant position of CFO. Given the department’s financial challenges, it is hoped that the persistent systemic issues will be resolved,” the commission noted.

According to the PSC, the non-compliance with payments to suppliers within 30 days continues to severely impact the sustainability of the small, medium and micro enterprises.

The PSC also observed that most of the late and/or non-payment of invoices relate to internal control deficiency in departments which appears to be recurring without being addressed.

The commission has undertaken to continue monitoring the payment of invoices to suppliers within the regulated timeframe as well as flag and condemn those departments that are unable to adhere to the stipulated measures.

“More support should be directed to the bigger departments who have consistently failed to meet the targets. The PSC’s analysis shows that the Department of Health is the main contributor towards late and/or non-payment of invoices, and more resources should be provided to support the department,” the watchdog stated.

The DA said it will monitor the process of hiring the new CFO to ensure that only a competent candidate meeting the requirements is appointed to improve the payment of suppliers.

DA member of the provincial legislature Madeleine Hicklin said businesses providing services to the department have been compromised by the inability to pay invoices valued at over R5.1bn (R2.46bn paid after 30 days and R4.12bn unpaid) within the stipulated 30-day period in the first quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.

“This is severely affecting businesses rendering services to the department and solely dependent on the 30-day payment of invoices to pay their employees’ salaries, pay their suppliers, and keep their doors open. This will also affect patients’ access to health care services as the department’s service providers are constrained,” Hicklin explained.

In May, the PSC revealed that the department failed to pay 30 914 invoices totalling R4.86bn at the end of the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.

The department has indicated that it is evaluating its financial management strategies to enhance cash flow and ensure timely payments including better forecasting of expenses and seeking additional budgetary support where necessary to avoid recurrence.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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