More than R10 billion in invoices yet to be paid to service providers by govt depts - Treasury

JOHANNESBURG - National Treasury said that more than R10 billion in invoices was yet to be paid to companies that did business with national and provincial government in the 2023/24 financial year.

This comes as government continues to come under fire for non-compliance of prescribed law to pay service providers within 30 day of receipt of an invoice.

Treasury released its 2024 report on late payment of suppliers' invoices.

The total number of invoices older than 30 days and not paid by national departments as at the end of the 2023/24 financial year exceeded 1,400 invoices.

The departments of justice and constitutional development, as well as public works and infrastructure were the top two departments that reported unpaid invoices.

The Eastern Cape and Gauteng were the worst-performing, while Limpopo had the least unpaid invoices, with only three.

Treasury said that the common reasons for late or non-payment of invoices included misfiled, misplaced or unrecorded invoices, cash-flow challenges, inadequate internal controls as well as IT system issues.

Treasury said that this has dire consequences for businesses.

It recommended disciplinary action against officials who dragged their feet and said the challenges must be flagged at every exco meeting within departments.