Note to Editors: Please note Tim Brauteseth, MPL sound bite in English
The DA welcomes notable progress by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN’s) Department of Social Development (DSD) in addressing audit findings and improving financial governance, as presented during a SOPA hearing held late last week.
The progress – by one of KZN’s key service delivery departments – includes the achievement of an unqualified audit opinion for the 2024/25 financial year. It also includes clean outcomes in seven key areas including procurement, asset management and conditional grants – reflecting commendable strides toward improved accountability and service delivery.
In particular, the DA acknowledges DSD’s efforts to reduce irregular expenditure from R71million in 2022/23 to R9.8million in 2024/25 and its proactive steps to investigate and submit more than R400 million in historical irregular expenditure for condonation. The establishment of the Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful (UIFW) Expenditure Committee and the implementation of an audit turnaround strategy are further positive developments.
We commend DSD MEC, Mbali Shinga for her leadership, her commitment to strengthening governance and for driving the department’s turnaround strategy. Her steady stewardship has contributed to improved audit outcomes and signals a growing culture of accountability. DSD’s progress is a clear example that where MECs play a strong and active oversight role over their departments, real and measurable improvements can be achieved.
While DSD’s improvements are good news, the DA does remain deeply concerned about the slow pace of consequence management. Despite investigations into fruitless and wasteful expenditure, more than R4.9million remains unresolved, with no officials held accountable to date. The department is also yet to finalise investigations into more than 2 400 transactions, with this backlog is only expected to be cleared by March 2026.
This delay undermines the principles of accountability and risks eroding public trust. The DA calls on DSD to expedite consequence management processes, ensure timely investigations and enforce disciplinary action where warranted.
As a responsible partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA will continue to monitor progress and advocate for transparent governance that prioritises the needs of vulnerable citizens. Accountability must not be deferred – consequence management must be swift, fair and uncompromising