Maile set to challenge auditor-general findings in court
Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements Lebogang Maile has confirmed his department will challenge the Auditor General's audit outcomes in court for the 2021/22 financial year.
Maile briefed the media in Sandton on Monday.
"The department is perpetually confronted with old matters of irregular expenditure that have been raised in previous fiscal years and this forms the basis of the dispute recorded with the Office of the Auditor-General, wherein we are now exercising our right to take the AG's findings under review."
Eighty findings were made against the Human Settlements Department in the 2021/2022 audit outcomes.
Maile said that 41 of those were completely resolved, while 34 were partially resolved.
"Most of the challenges are due to the loss of source documents in the fire at the Bank of Lisbon building in 2018 and only five unresolved matters fromt this fiscal year."
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The department has also recorded more than R191 million in irregular expenditure.
But Maile defended the figure, saying it was from the "previous financial years”.
"It is imperative to state the fact that the irregular expenditure of R191 225 000 relates to old contracts that were ongoing from previous fiscal years and this was disclosed in the financial statements."
It is still unclear as to when the matter will head to court.
Maile said a senior counsel has been appointed to handle the matter.
We have appointed a senior counsel who has given us preliminary advice. That preliminary advice is that we have a case and we can proceed to go to court. It should be available today. We will then give the senior counsel instruction to proceed."
