AG Kimi Makwetu’s ‘real-time’ audit of contracts and relief schemes indicate ‘a higher risk of fraud and abuse of funds’.
The report found that the government’s systems were inadequate and could not keep up with the number of applications and the disbursement of Covid-19 relief money, which include: South African Social Security Agency grants; Support for small businesses.
Makwetu said this is partly because significant changes were made to processes and systems in a short time to enable these payouts. These changes were done without ensuring that preventative controls were in place. Data was not integrated and shared across government departments and grant applicants were not adequately verified to ensure they qualified for relief.
The auditor general also criticised how Sassa’s food relief programme was handled. Makwetu said the way in which government-issued food parcels — a total of 146 936 — were provided was not cost-effective. Makwetu said it would have been considerably cheaper if nongovernmental organisations and social relief partners had been used.
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