The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has accused the cash-strapped KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education of refusing to take advice and recommendations made by auditors to help the department improve its financial standing.

Recently, AGSA staff briefed the members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) at the provincial legislature.

During the briefing, the AGSA revealed that among the challenges is that the Department of Education is not receptive to the advice and recommendations provided. It was reported that the department is spending 100% of its budget on certain functions without finalising those tasks.

The AGSA also highlighted that some school building projects were plagued by poor workmanship, with some of the work being so poorly executed that the structures were deemed unsafe for learners.

The department is currently facing severe financial difficulties due to budget cuts imposed by the national government and an unfunded wage agreement. It has emerged that some special needs schools are on the verge of closing down after not being allocated funding by the department.

Khabiso Madlala, a member of the AGSA team, told the committee that the department has been unresponsive to its recommendations on improving governance. “When I came to present before the committee on the findings of another department, I mentioned that other departments are receptive to our advice. However, when it comes to the Department of Education, we find that they are not receptive to our recommendations,” he stated.

Madlala explained that shortly before the end of the financial year, AGSA staff visited the department. They identified issues and communicated them to the department but found that some of these issues still resulted in material findings.

“There are material irregularities within the Department of Education that have not been concluded. We are asking for support from this committee to question the department on why these material irregularities have not been finalised. The response we are receiving is that the department simply does not have the funds to conduct these investigations, yet there is an office of the premier that could be conducting thorough investigations to address these matters.”

Snenhlanhla Sibiya, a senior manager at AGSA, stated that there are issues with the supply chain that are leading to irregular expenditure. She also noted slow progress in addressing issues of consequence management, particularly regarding investigations.

“There are investigations being conducted by the office of the Premier, but there is very little progress in terms of the department examining its own consequence management,” she said, adding that they are considering taking further steps on some issues they raised with the department that have not progressed since their initial reporting.

Other concerns raised by the AGSA included deficiencies in internal controls, poor record-keeping, and inadequate detection and prevention of non-compliance with Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes.

Despite the budget being fully spent, the achievement of key performance indicators have not been realised, which is a significant area of concern.

“It is troubling that when the budget is fully spent, the achievements set for the department have not been realised,” she remarked.

The report also highlighted unauthorised expenditure, which has increased from R63 million to R520 million due to overspending resulting from an unfunded budget.

In response, Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka said they are taking the audit seriously, emphasising their responsibility for the education of more than 2.5 million learners, despite ongoing budget reductions.

“We are entrusted with serious responsibility and want to ensure that every cent we receive is spent accordingly.”

THE MERCURY

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