- Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu has flagged poor government control as gateway for Covid-19 fraud.
- Makwetu said less than half of the Covid-19 budget of R147.4 billion has been spent.
- He calls his report a baseline for the interrogation by oversight on how the funds are spent.
The abuse in the spending of emergency relief funds related to Covid-19 procurement made a bad situation in government worse.
Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu has warned of significant risks that point to internal deficiencies in government systems as well as the exposure to an external risk to state funds.
Makwetu released his audit report on Covid-19 funding on Wednesday which raised red flags on how the R147.4 billion emergency budget had been misappropriated.
He said a heightened level of oversight would be required as more programmes were rolled out.
Makwetu also called on oversight structures to use his report to direct their oversight actions and call accounting officers and authorities as well as executive authorities to account for the implementation of the initiatives related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the management of the funds entrusted to them.
"This report should become the baseline for the interrogation by oversight on how the funds entrusted for the Covid-19 response were used."
Makwetu report comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa commissioned the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe Covid-19-related fraud.
Key political figures and their families have been implicated in allegations of corruption related to contracts.
The outrage compelled the ANC to look inward and resolve for those implicated in wrongdoing to step aside from their official duties.
The ANC has been at odds with itself in the fight to purge itself of corruption.
Makwetu's damning report revealed the government's information technology systems were not agile enough to respond to the changes required.
He said pre-existing deficiencies in the supply chain processes of government were amplified by the introduction of emergency procurement processes and poor record keeping was flagged as a common feature across many initiatives, which he said made it difficult for auditing.
Inability
Makwetu also revealed the pre-existing inability to co-ordinate and oversee efforts that involve multiple departments, agencies and spheres of government continue to plague projects.
The Auditor-General's data analysis further identified indicators of a higher risk of fraud and abuse of funds.
He said:
Unique from his annual audits, Makwetu added his multidisciplinary office of fraud and IT experts had dug deep into auditing payments, procurement and delivery as they occurred and were reporting any findings to the accounting officer or authority to enable them to deal with any shortcomings immediately.
He said they wanted to tighten the controls to prevent a recurrence.
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"The lack of validation, integration and sharing of data across government platforms resulted in people, including government officials, receiving benefits and grants they were not entitled to.
"Some applicants could have been unfairly rejected as a result of outdated information on which assessment for eligibility was based. The pre-existing deficiencies in the supply chain processes of government were amplified by the introduction of the emergency procurement processes allowed for personal protective equipment.
"Based on what was audited to date, there are clear signs of overpricing, unfair processes, potential fraud and supply chain management legislation being sidestepped. In addition, delays in the delivery of personal protective equipment and quality concerns could have been avoided through better planning and management of suppliers."