National and provincial government departments have accumulated R46-billion in irregular expenditure. Auditor general Kimi Makwetu said the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) contributed R13.9-billion in irregular expenditure.

Makwetu released the auditor general’s report on national and provincial audit outcomes for the 2015-2016 year on Wednesday. He said that the irregular expenditure in 2015-2016 had increased by 80% since the previous financial year when national and provinicial government departments had incurred R25.7-billion in irregular expenditure.

Along with Prasa, the health departments in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, the department of water and sanitation, and Gauteng’s road and transport and human settlements departments are behind 50% of the R46-billion uncovered in Makwetu’s report. The auditor general’s report audited 169 national and provincial departments and 315 public enterprises. It contained 484 auditees in total, with a budget of R1.2-trillion for 2015/16.