Tshwane metro slammed on R1b irregular expenditure

A Tshwane audit report has revealed R1b in irregular expenditure involving a single housing project, and R493.2m of Covid-19 funds mismanaged.

The report, compiled by a Tshwane audit and performance committee, probed the metro’s finances and said it found flaws in how the metro’s finances were deployed.

The committee’s report was submitted and accepted by full council on August 26.

It did not elaborate on details of how the irregular expenditure happened.

The committee found that almost half of the municipality’s overall irregular expenditure for the 2018/19 financial year, pertained to the Soshanguve project, known as Thorntree View.

This report ties in with the findings of late auditor-general Kimi Makwetu, who in July 2020, found that Tshwane metro had incurred irregular expenditure amounting to R2.9-billion.

The report found that the money meant for urban settlement development grant re-allocation in support of Covid-19 relief was used contrary to conditions set out by the national treasury, resulting in the finding of mismanagement of funds.

It was found that the allocated money was used to fund other operations of the municipality not related to Covid-19, including R80-million used to pay for refuse removal by the environmental management department.

The committee also found that there was no supporting documentation to substantiate the spending R5.3-million grant funds incurred by the metro’s group property division for Covid-19.

The report further raised concerns weak controls identified in the past as part of forensic investigations were never formally addressed.

This posed a “significant risk to the metro”, the committee said.

“The fraud investigation section is under-staffed with a particular concern over the post of the Director: Fraud Investigations, which has not been filled over the past three years.”

It was also found that the metro’s group audit and risk department was failing to cope with expenditure investigations due to a lack of forensic accountants and economic crimes investigators.

The ANC has slammed the DA-led Tshwane administration after an official report found that more than R1b was spent irregularly on a single housing project.

The ANC blamed the metro’s financial troubles on the ruling DA administration.

ANC councillor Thabo Ntlatleng said the unauthorised and fruitless expenditure under the DA took the metro “backwards”.

“They failed to provide oversight to avoid fruitless, wasteful and unauthorised expenditure.”

Ntlatleng said “Covid-19-related funds should have been used to benefit hundreds of people without houses” but instead “the money was spent on unrelated services”.

The Tshwane metro had not responded to Rekord’s inquiry by the time of publishing.

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