Terence Nombembe has told government to immediately implement stricter controls to get the best value for services provided by external use of consultants to the public sector which has cost taxpayers about R33.5 billion over the past three financial years.
The performance audit found that the total expenditure by eight audited national departments had spent a combined amount of R24.6 billion (74% of the total national expenditure of R33.5 billion on consultants) which is more than a third of the amount spent by all departments.
The biggest spender was the Department of Defence, which paid more than R10.4 billion (31%) to outside companies to perform functions it should being doing internally. Another big spender R8.8 billion (26%) were departments that did not form part of the audit.
Deputy Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu said there was a need for stricter financial management. He said people who were given resources to implement programmes had a tendency of doing as they pleased if there was no close oversight.
Makwetu said the latest report indicates that inadequate planning, the high turnover of employees in key positions, inadequate financial and performance management and ineffective governance arrangements adversely affected the economical, effective and efficient use of consultants. However he said the current picture could be turned around if departments have the right systems of control in place.
He said ministers and managers in the relevant departments had already reacted well to the recommendations.
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