Auditor General (politely) tells the government to do its job

The Auditor General reported progress on its new mission of recovering funds and holding accounting officers responsible powers to Parliament earlier this month. 

Tsakani Maluleke also gave insight into shortcomings in the accountability chain. 

It’s tough telling your boss and colleagues they need to do better. 

But if you strip away the platitudes, that’s what Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke did earlier this month when she reported to Parliament.  

Speaking to MPs on the Standing Committee on the Auditor General, Maluleke gave an update on its new material irregularities (MI) powers. 

The powers, which came about thanks to a legislative amendment to the Public Audit Act, mean that the Auditor General is not limited to pointing out problems. It can hold, reclaim or prevent money from being wasted and hold individual accounting officers responsible.

The Auditor General says it prevented R636 million in financial losses, recovered R14 million and is ‘in the process’ of recovering R509 million. 

It’s also in the process of issuing its first certificate of debt.  

Together that’s just over R1,16 billion. Enough money to pay for the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship and cover the Auditor General’s annual budget.

A prominent example is the unapproved Covid drugs bought by the Department of Defence (DoD) from Cuba. Thanks to MI powers, the unused vials were sent back to the island, preventing an estimated R227 million loss. 

Material irregularity powers aren’t superpowers

The DoD is also a good case study of the limitations of the new powers. “We’ve issued five MIs around the Department of Defence, and we’ve seen very little action,” Maluleke told the committee. 

“So we’ve been looking at how to make the next steps as set out in the Public Audit Act and our regulations implementable. And we’ve come to a point where we’re limited on what more we can do.”  

The problem arises because of a legislative complexity between the Defence Act and the PFMA. 

“Where there is wrongdoing, if a matter was implemented by a member of the force, that person reports to the Chief of Defence, the Secretary of Defence (who is the accounting officer under the PFMA) is unable to implement disciplinary action directly because those people don’t report to him or her,” explained Maluleke.

“It’s going to be important that the three of them [Chief, Secretary and Minister of Defence] set out the accountability mechanisms that make sure that financial matters, especially around procurement, are handled in a way that’s expected. 

“We also advised over many years that it’s crucial that three of them set a common tone around what is tolerable and collaborate in instituting discipline regardless of where individuals sit.”

When asked if this overlap can be fixed by changing the law, Auditor General spokesperson Harold Maloka said, “The AG brought the matter to the attention of the department’s executive authority and of Parliament. They are the ones mandated to find a solution or mechanism that can enhance accountability.”

The Auditor General is not a law enforcement agency

Maluleke says they’ve referred eight matters to public bodies such as the Hawks and Special Investigative Unit. “[We] get constant feedback as to how the matters are being handled. Our concern is that the speed with which they’re being dealt with in many instances is not what we would’ve expected.”

In a later interview, Maloka said, “The reasons (for the slow speed) vary and include dependency on other state bodies for approval of investigations, resource constraints and the scope increasing once the investigation begins.”

However, it’s not only the Auditor General who has the power, even the duty, to follow up. 

“We would also like to encourage members of parliament and provincial legislature to consider that where there are investigations underway, they could also play a role in following up with the public bodies that are busy with those investigations,” says Maluleke. 

The chain of accountability doesn’t hold if the links outside the AGs control are corroded. 

As Maluleke politely put it. “We certainly want to encourage all roleplayers to do their part in strengthening accountability because if we do this, then all of us have the potential to stand back after a number of years and observe a public sector that’s shifted its culture towards one of better accountability better integrity and better performance ultimately for the benefit of citizens.”

As this writer bluntly paraphrases it.

Do your job.