SOUTH AFRICA
The cost of financial misconduct in the South African Public Service is skyrocketing with the State continuing to bleed billions of rand through corruption, a new report from the Public Service Commission (PSC) has shown.
The Pulse of the Public Service report indicates the amounts lost increased from ZAR184 million (A$18 million) in 2015–16 to ZAR524 million (A$51 million) the next year, with the PSC saying it was concerning to note that 51.3 per cent of the monies were not recovered.
The Government has been struggling to clamp down on corruption within the public sector, with accounting officers of Departments required to report on the outcome of completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct to, among others, the PSC.
“The PSC is of the view that the accounting officers responsible should be held accountable for the non-compliance,” the report stated.
Commissioner of the PSC, Mike Seloane (pictured) said there were instances where it was nearly impossible to recover the money, although that did not mean there should be no consequences.
“The money has to be recovered when you have been found guilty; you may find situations where service has been delivered but the people did not follow supply chain prescripts, such amounts do not have to be recovered,” Mr Seloane said.
“We often find that even under those situations, had the relevant Departments followed supply chain prescripts, they would have paid less for the service.”
The report also found that 26 per cent of all financial misconduct cases in the public sector ended up in criminal proceedings, with employees facing corruption, theft and fraud charges, among others.
Pretoria, 7 January 2019
