Parliament, Friday, 5 September 2025 – The Standing Committee on the Auditor-General (SCoAG) has noted that the cases referred by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) to law enforcement agencies indicate systemic procurement weaknesses that have exposed the state to fraud, corruption and theft, resulting in the failure of service delivery.
The committee today received a briefing from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the HAWKS and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on cases of material irregularities referred by AGSA.
The committee is encouraged by the progress made by these law enforcement agencies to ensure consequences for corrupt activities. The committee however expressed concern about how long certain investigations take.
The DPCI is currently handling 21 cases of fraud and corruption.
The cases include the South African Post Office / Postbank and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grants matter that involves over R158 million due to weak internal control systems. The DPCI informed the committee that millions have been lost due to stolen SASSA cards, fraudulent payments and several SASSA officials are under investigation and others are in court.
Other cases include municipalities who are implicated in financial mismanagement. Mohokare Municipality failed to pay over pension contributions since 2015, leaving workers and their families stranded and the estimated amount involved is now at R116 million. Madibeng Municipality suffered fraudulent debit orders worth R19 million over years and Matjhabeng Municipality made fraudulent payments for a stormwater project that was never delivered, costing nearly R16 million.
The HAWKS are also investigating cases involving government departments. The Free State Department of Human Settlements is under investigation for irregular Covid-19 “standing time” payments and UIF claims, involving R10 million. The Department of Defence is accused of preferential treatment in a fuel tender worth R2.5 million. The Northern Cape Urban TVET College faces fraud linked to fake quotations to the amount of R1 million and the Free State Development Corporation (FDC) allegedly failed to collect R109 million in revenue due to fraud.
In addition, the AGSA has referred 19 cases of material irregularities to the SIU that involve fraud, maladministration, or abuse of power which has caused financial loss or denied citizens their rights. Nine of these cases have already led to Presidential Proclamations, authorising full-scale investigations. Seven cases are awaiting Proclamations from the Department of Justice, three were absorbed into existing Proclamations while four have already been finalised, with strong systemic recommendations issued.
These cases include the Free State Office of the Premier, the National Treasury IFMS Project, Chris Hani, Amajuba, Ngaka Modiri Molema and Bushbuckridge municipalities, Department of Defence, State Information Technology Agency and Umngeni Water.
It is encouraging that the SIU, beyond investigations, is pushing for a Prevention, Awareness and Advisory programme and driving the National Corruption Risk Management and Prevention Framework to close the weaknesses that corruption exploits. The briefings by the HAWKS and SIU reveal that weak supply chain systems and poor record-keeping make it easy for officials to abuse funds and municipal mismanagement undermines service delivery.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, MR WOUTER WESSELS.
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Name: Ms Faith Ndenze
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Email: fndenze@parliament.gov.za
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