Note to Editors: Please note Tim Brauteseth, MPL sound bite in English
The Democratic Alliance (DA) acknowledges the comprehensive report tabled by KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) – following its October hearings into the Auditor-General’s (AG’S) findings for the 2024/25 financial year – which highlight serious governance and financial management challenges.
The DA is concerned by the regression in provincial audit outcomes. In 2022/23, 10 KZN government departments achieved clean audits. This number has now dropped to six. Particularly troubling is that KZN’s Departments of Education (DoE) and Health (DoH) – responsible for the largest share of the provincial budget – received qualified audit opinions. These departments are critical to the well-being of citizens, and their financial instability undermines service delivery.
Key issues identified by SCOPA include:
• Fiscal Pressures: Provincial liabilities have escalated to R15billion, with KZN’s Department of Transport (DoT) accounting for R9.5billion. Unauthorised expenditure stands at R532 million, largely within Education.
• Service Delivery Shortfalls: Education achieved only 71% of its target for delivering core learning materials on time, while Health fell short on immunisation coverage. Transport’s road maintenance performance was far below target and;
• Governance and Accountability Gaps: Irregular expenditure remains high, with Education, Health and Transport collectively exceeding R6 billion. Material irregularities amounting to R280million remain unresolved, and consequence management processes are stalled.
The DA supports SCOPA’s resolutions, which include financial recovery plans, improved performance monitoring, expedited disciplinary processes, and the filling of critical management posts by January 2026. We also welcome the committee’s commitment to reconvene in March 2026 to assess progress and enforce compliance.
The DA calls on Premier, Thami Ntuli and all MECs to treat these resolutions as mandatory and to prioritise corrective measures without delay. Failure to act will perpetuate fiscal instability and service delivery failures, eroding public confidence in government.
As a responsible member of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA remains committed to ensuring accountability, transparency, and efficiency in provincial administration. We will continue to monitor implementation and hold the provincial executive accountable for restoring integrity and delivering on the promise of a capable and ethical state.