Billions in material financial losses can’t be recovered

CAPE TOWN - Auditor General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke says most of the almost R14 billion in material financial losses can’t be recovered.

She said the losses were due to 266 material irregularities on non-compliance and suspected fraud in provincial and national government for the financial year ending in 2023.

Maluleke was briefing the parliamentary press gallery earlier on Monday, where she also reflected on the last five years as the head of the country’s supreme audit institution.

She told the media in Parliament that material irregularities continue to be a major burden on service delivery and the country’s finances..

Asked how much won’t be recovered, Maluleke said nearly all of it: "Most of it. Because if you look at the issues that are sitting there, it’s cumulative so some of them would have been matters that arose in 2019 or even before. And when you’ve got liquidations in process you’re not going to get that money back."

However, Maluleke says there are examples where accounting officers have taken action and managed to prevent up to R500 million in financial losses.