The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) finds itself at the centre of a storm after its audit opinion regressed from an unqualified audit with findings to a qualified audit with findings for the 2024/25 financial year. 

This decline, following three consecutive years of unqualified audits, has ignited a debate within the parliamentary Portfolio Committee, with opposition parties and even members of the Government of National unity expressing shock and demanding accountability.

The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) delivered the damning briefing to Parliament last week, highlighting Dirco’s significant financial regression. 

While the AGSA had reported an improvement in Dirco’s audit outcomes in the 2021/22 financial year, moving from financially qualified to unqualified with findings, the latest report paints a grim picture. 

The DA claimed that the department’s asset management for overseas missions is primarily to blame for the financial woes.

However, DIRCO’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, pushed back against the DA’s claims, saying that their statement was “misleading”.

“The qualification had nothing to do with the fixed assets, including the properties.” 

However Phiri acknowledged that some of these properties had not been maintained in over 16 years. 

Phiri further detailed the actual causes of the qualification, citing non-compliance and a regression in asset management as primary factors. 

He revealed that the department failed to maintain a credible asset register, which was found to be understated by over R112 million, with an astounding R983.6 million in unverified items. Other contributing factors included the failure to dispose of obsolete assets, persistent procurement violations, a lack of consequence management, and various errors in financial statements.

Despite Phiri’s clarification, the DA remained steadfast in its claims. 

DA spokesperson on International Cooperation, Ryan Smith, said it was clear that Dirco’s priorities were not aligned with the needs of the South African people.

“South Africa’s international image, much like our embassy buildings, is decaying as a result.” 

The DA’s Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR) specifically highlighted the “poor state and condition of some of the state-owned immovable properties where Dirco is responsible for the upkeep”.”

This neglect, according to the report, has rendered some properties uninhabitable, forcing officials into costly rental accommodation.

UMkhonto weSizwe MP Wesley Douglas, commenting on the AG report, expressed shock at the department’s financial performance.

 “Buildings and embassies are falling apart. This is really not acceptable,” Douglas declared, highlighting a 24.6% vacancy rate, including key positions at missions, and severe ICT governance failures. 

“Missions have been offline for most of the year, and biometric systems have been bypassed for handwritten visas. Who does handwritten visas still? What kind of nonsense is this?”

The South African embassy in Paris, operating at a mere 50% capacity, faces issues ranging from roof damage and mold to poor ventilation and non-functional security measures like CCTV cameras. 

In Bangkok, budget constraints prevent the mission from serving Cambodia or Laos, a situation Douglas described as “hugely problematic” given the rise in human trafficking in those regions. 

A virtual oversight visit to the South African Mission in Islamabad revealed persistent ITC issues and slow visa processing. 

The South African consulate in Shanghai is reportedly dilapidated, causing “reputational damage” to the country. 

The Embassy in The Hague has over 30 broken windows, leading to it being reported to the local municipal council.

The issue of consequence management also became a central point of contention. 

The AGSA reported a notable increase in irregular expenditure, soaring to R311 million in the current year from R187 million in 2021. 

This included R109.9 million in new irregular expenditure and R201 million from previously declared irregular contracts. 

The AGSA pointed to “ineffective oversight over financial reporting and compliance,” “inadequate reviews of the annual financial statements,” and a “persistent lack of consequence management” as key culprits.

Members of the Portfolio Committee echoed these concerns. They questioned why the department had not cancelled an ICT contract repeatedly flagged as irregular, especially after Dirco had previously claimed its cancellation. 

The Committee expressed dismay that long-standing issues raised in previous AG reports remained unaddressed. 

Furthermore, they took issue with the department’s inability to recover rental refunds from officials who had damaged properties rented for them abroad.

Smith, accused South African officials of treating their deployments as “a paid holiday of debauchery on a maroon passport, rather than a crucial and prestigious posting with critical objectives.” 

He cited the case of Adv David Kweli Nkosi, a diplomat who allegedly owes Dirco nearly R800,000 for damages in Austria and India, yet was redeployed to Jordan.

Phiri, in defence of the department, stated that Dirco had taken on the property portfolio from Public Works “without the budgets or personnel.” He said that Dirco has a plan to renovate properties and dispose of those that are not financially viable, a plan he claimed the DA was privy to.

Lamola, in a separate statement, focused on South Africa’s foreign policy objectives and its role in advancing the Global South and the African Agenda, particularly through its upcoming G20 presidency. 

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