During the revised Budget Speech delivered on Wednesday, 21 May, the Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana identified corruption as a major contributor to fiscal irregularities and as a huge stumbling block to effective and efficient service delivery. It also undermines government resolve to entrench spending efficiencies in its programmes and procurement processes, he said.
To address this anomaly, he made a firm commitment to fighting corruption. “We are making progress in pushing back against actions that compromise our national interests. In addressing the scourge of corruption, the National Prosecuting Authority has, through its Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) adopted a broader and aggressive anti-corruption strategy that has yielded financial injection to the fiscus,” he stated.
He went on to cite the billions that have been recovered from the proceeds of corruption. “In the past five years, the AFU has recovered over R5 billion paid to the victims of crime and the Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA). With regards to state capture-related cases, the AFU obtained freezing orders amounting to R14.2 billion with R8 billion recovered and paid to the CARA.”
He also emphasised the benefit of spending efficiencies in the management of the public purse, which will enable the government to realise a return on its investments. “To be successful, our strategy of maintaining fiscal discipline while investing in growth demands that we prioritise high-impact expenditures. These are expenditures that deliver economic returns while eliminating inefficiencies, wastage and leakage that too often plague government’s spending.”
He went on to list the measures the government has put in place to tackle spending inefficiencies. “To tackle this, the National Treasury has undertaken expenditure reviews looking at more than R300 billion in government spending since 2013, with the aim of identifying duplications, waste and inefficiencies. We found potential savings of R37.5 billion over time through improved oversight and operational changes through these reviews,” he said.
To underscore government’s seriousness in getting value for its money, the Minister noted that going forward, underperforming programmes will be closed as the 2026 Medium-Term Economic Framework budget process undergoes redesign.
To stimulate economic growth, the government has long been encouraged to introduce structural economic reforms. To this end, the Minister said, “New reforms will target infrastructure planning and implementation across provinces and municipalities.”
To address the persist outcry over the bloated public service payroll that has become burdensome to the fiscus and the irregularities that dog it, the minister said government will initiate a data-driven approach to detecting payroll irregularities that will replace the more costly method of using censuses. This initiative will cross-reference administrative datasets to identify ghost workers and other anomalies across government departments.
Among its raft of intervention to curb corruption, the Treasury has identified the need to protect whistle-blowers due to their critical role in uprooting corruption. He called for a sustainable political will in this regard. “Sustained political backing, at the highest levels, is needed to overcome departmental resistance and to protect whistleblowers who expose irregularities and wastage.” He commended the Presidency for its firm stance on uprooting corruption through executive proclamations for the investigation of corruption wherever it raises its ugly head.
He also urged ministers and senior government officials to play their part in this regard. “I call on ministers, MECs, DGs, HoDs and every official responsible for public funds to embrace these efforts and play their part.”
Abel Mputing
26 May 2025
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