• KZN Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) creating conditions for improved governance.
• Report does highlight some serious and persistent challenges.
• Sustainable reform demands accountability, financial recovery, protection of taxpayer funds.
(Please note Tim Brauteseth, MPL sound bite in English)
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes several positive findings within the latest Auditor-General (AG) KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) audit outcomes, which indicate gradual steps forward in governance and oversight.
According to the AG;
• Executive accountability is becoming more institutionalized
• Legislative oversight is more evidence-based, and
• Provincial Treasury interventions are increasingly focused on infrastructure monitoring and financial oversight.
These developments suggest that KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) is creating conditions for improved governance.
The DA welcomes the clean audits achieved by several departments, the turnarounds within Social Development and Public Works – under MECs Mbali Shinga and Martin Meyer – and strong leadership by Finance MEC, Francois Rodgers. Improved audit outcomes across parts of the provincial administration are further encouraging signs of progress.
However, the report also highlights serious and persistent challenges;
• Audit outcomes remain largely stagnant
• Irregular expenditure continues to grow, and;
• Weak financial controls and poor consequence management remain evident in several departments.
Of particular concern is the increase in irregular expenditure to R6.56 billion during the 2025/26 financial year, with slow progress in investigating and resolving unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful (UIFW) expenditure. The AG further identified material irregularities within KZN’s Departments of Education, Health and Transport, where failures to investigate UIFW expenditure continue to undermine accountability.
In response, the DA will submit detailed parliamentary questions to KZN’s Executive Council regarding suspension cases, the more than R33million spent on employee suspensions, progress on UIFW investigations, vehicle hire expenditure, government-funded benefits for political executives, and disciplinary measures against officials implicated in financial misconduct.
Of further concern is the slow progress in recovering losses to the provincial fiscus. While R1.4million has been recovered – and a further R14.8 million currently under recovery – these figures are small compared with the estimated R139.1million in identified financial losses. The AG further highlighted failures to recover penalties, overpayments and contractor-related costs, while billions in irregular expenditure remain unresolved.
Accountability must extend beyond identifying wrongdoing to include the recovery of public funds, civil action where necessary and meaningful consequences for those responsible. As a committed GPU partner, the DA supports stronger oversight, but sustainable reform requires accountability, financial recovery and the protection of taxpayer funds.