AG sends unsparing warning to SOEs – see full report
|Published
Kimi Makwetu Kimi Makwetu
CAPE TOWN – The Auditor-General (AG), Kimi Makwetu, has issued a strong warning about the affairs of state-owned entities they remain a risk to the economy.
Makwetu’s comments on Wednesday came after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni raised a similar concern in his Medium-term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in October.
In its MTBPS documents the National Treasury had flagged Eskom, SAA, Transnet and other SOEs a risk to the economy of South Africa.
In his audit outcomes report on the performance of SOEs, national and provincial departments the AG found that the finances of the state entities had deteriorated.
“The irregular expenditure of the SOEs we did not audit amounted to R28.4 billion, which included R19.6bn at Eskom and R8.1bn at Transnet,” said Makwetu.
The SABC remained a going concern and has requested a guarantee of R3bn to stay afloat.
The SABC is expected to suffer a loss of R803 million next March. This was after it incurred a loss of R622m in the last financial year.
Makwetu also raised concern about the state of SAA, SA Express and Denel. The three entities have not submitted their audited financial results in Parliament because of going concern issues.