THE Department of Defence has been castigated by auditor-general Kimi Makwetu for incurring R678m in irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Its financial statement received an unqualified audit opinion, but Makwetu raised concerns about its internal controls, leadership and management of procurement contracts and expenditure. The processes the auditor-general flagged will come under scrutiny because the department is pushing to lease a jet for President Jacob Zuma for official travel. Makwetu said the department often failed to meet contractual obligations and to pay money owed in the 30 days prescribed in the Public Finance Management Act. "Effective steps were not taken to prevent irregular expenditure of R671m and fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R7.1m, as disclosed [in] the financial statements." Twenty supply-chain management-related investigations conducted by the department’s investigative unit, which were still in progress during the time of the audit, could aff...
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