Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s 2024/25 national and provincial audit report continues to paint a concerning picture. The province grapples with financial instability, weak governance and accountability failures across key departments and public entities.

The provincial expenditure budget amounted to R52.66bn during the financial year. The health and education departments account for more than two-thirds of spending. The province received R9,28 billion in conditional grants from national government.

The health department was solely responsible for all unauthorised expenditure recorded, Maluleke noted, while the health and social development departments accounted for the overwhelming majority (81%) of the provincial deficit.

‘Late payments have resulted in substantial fruitless and wasteful expenditure’

The report highlighted serious concerns around delayed payments to suppliers and creditors, which continue to undermine service delivery and place additional strain on businesses that rely on government contracts.

“The late payment of suppliers and creditors was most prevalent at the North West Development Corporation and the community safety and transport management department, which took an average of 488 days and 100 days, respectively, to make payments.”

Late payments have also resulted in substantial fruitless and wasteful expenditure, with government departments paying penalties and interest because of poor financial management.

“Most (94%) of the fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred was due to interest and penalties because of late payments to suppliers and payments made for services not received at the North West Development Corporation and the premier’s office.”

The health department remains one of the most financially vulnerable departments as medical negligence and malpractice claims continued to place pressure on already stretched resources, she said.

“The claims paid by the health department due to medical negligence and malpractice totalled R80.39m. The further estimated value of claims at year-end totalled R1,13bn, a decrease of R456.89m from the previous year.”

Maluleke warned several departments and entities are facing serious sustainability challenges, “leaving critical sectors like health and transport struggling to operate efficiently and deliver quality services”.

Concerns about governance failures extend beyond provincial departments. AfriForum’s environmental affairs advisor, Marais de Vaal, previously raised alarm over the deteriorating state of the North West Parks and Tourism Board.

He described the entity as being “on the brink of collapse”, citing leadership instability and severe financial difficulties. A year ago, he pointed out that the board had appointed six acting chief executive officers within six months and had failed to pay staff salaries for two consecutive months due to cash flow constraints.

Meanwhile, Maluleke’s report also revealed some entities failed to provide adequate supporting information for audit purposes. Ongoing instability at North West Parks and Tourism Board further exposed systematic governance deficiencies across the province public entities, she said.

The AG identified persistent accountability failures within the health and education departments. “The health and education departments … continued to face systemic accountability failures that weakened oversight, stalled service delivery and eroded public trust.”

Capacity constraints, leadership instability and weak internal controls continue to compromise the quality and reliability of financial reporting across the province, she warned.

The continued submission of poor-quality financial statements prevents effective decision-making and hampers the efficient management of public resources. These shortcomings ultimately undermine fiscal discipline, weaken accountability and hamper the planning and delivery of essential public services, she added.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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