Cost of financial misconduct in the public service skyrockets

As the state continues to bleed billions of rand through corruption in the public sector, a Public Service Commission report shows that amounts involved increased drastically in the past financial year.

The amounts increased from R184m in 2015/16 to a whopping R524m the following year, with the commission saying it was concerning to note that 51.3% of the monies were not recovered.

The details are contained in the Pulse of the Public Service report in which the commission details how there had been a “drastic increase” in the amount of money involved in completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct in 2016/2017.

The government has been struggling to clamp down on corruption within the public sector, with the commission reporting that financial misconduct reported by national and provincial departments was the highest in the 2014/2015 financial year at R1.7bn.

In terms of the Public Finance Management Act, accounting officers of departments are required to report on the outcome of completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct to, among others, the PSC.

“It is concerning to note that at the time of reporting on completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct for the 2016/2017 financial year, national and provincial departments indicated that 51.3% of the amount involved was not recovered.

“Consequently, the PSC is of the view that the accounting officers responsible should be held accountable for the noncompliance,” read the report.

PSC commissioner Mike Seloane told Business Day that there were instances where it was near impossible to recover the money, although that does not mean there should be no consequences.

“The money has to be recovered when you have been found guilty, you may find situations where service has been delivered but the people did not follow supply chain prescripts, such amounts do not have to be recovered, but we often find that even under those situations, had the relevant departments followed supply chain prescripts, they would have paid less for the service,” he said.

The report also found that 26% of all financial misconduct cases in the public sector ended up in criminal proceedings with employees facing corruption, theft and fraud charges among others. The commission has advised government departments to conduct risk assessments to prevent and detect possible financial misconduct.