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In the DPW's latest annual report tabled in Parliament on Monday, the Auditor General's report on the Department's financial statements said that he was unable to satisfy himself as to the occurrence, accuracy and compliance of goods and services amounting to R819.046 million and expenditure for capital assets stated at R1.340 billion.

The Auditor General also said that he could not obtain sufficient evidence as to the obligation, valuation and classification of the operating lease commitments' of R115 million.

He also pointed out that irregular and wasteful expenditure of more than R16 million understated wasteful expenditure.

The DPW received an appropriation of R7.365 billion for the 2010/11 financial year compared with R6.049 billion for the year before. In the last financial year it managed to spend 90% of its budget compared with 94% the year before.

In her forward, Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde made no mention of the debacle surrounding the lease of two SA Police Service buildings in Pretoria and Durban amounting to almost R2 billion. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found in her investigation of the leases that Mahlangu-Nkabinde had committed maladministration in authorizing the leases at rates far above their market value.

Mahlangu-Nkabinde has since ordered a court application to declare the leases void.

The Auditor General's report also pointed out that the DPW had materially underspent the budget on immovable asset management programme to the amount of R235 million and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to the amount of R500 million.

"In terms of the EPWP, the bulk of the under-expenditure was due to the infrastructure grant to provinces and municipalities not being transferred due to the under-reporting and poor performance by the reporting bodies eligible for the incentive grant," the Auditor General said.

The EPWP was government's main job creation project to get as many unemployed people as possible to find paid work in building roads, schools and other public works.

He said that as a consequence, the Department did not achieve its objectives of fast-tracking the construction of selected schools and energy-efficient intervention.

The Auditor General also slammed the usefulness of the information supplied for auditing purposes in terms of consistency and measurability.

The Auditor General attacked the leadership within the Department accusing the accounting officer (the Director General, who is Mandla Mabuza) for not exercising oversight responsibility regarding financial performance and procedures to enable and support the understanding and execution of internal objectives, processes and responsibilities.