South Africa's justice department defends irregular spending allegations

The South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJCD) has blamed differences between two competing pieces of legislation for alleged irregularities in its spending. The department cited discrepancies between the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) code of practice and the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) for payments highlighted in a report by the Auditor General South Africa. The report had claimed payments were made in contravention to the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act

A statement released to accompany the Department of Justice’s own annual report said: ‘The department proactively adopted the BBBEE codes of practice during the 2004-05 financial year in anticipation that it will be implemented in the near future. “Although the two regulatory require the use of the same formula – 80 per cent for price and 20 per cent for goals – which was followed in dealing with all procurement processes, they slightly differ in terms of their codes of practice,” it said.

The allegations of irregular expenditure made by the Auditor General related to the procurement of goods and services through quotations and bids dating back to 2004. The BBBEE codes of conduct were introduced in 2007.

An earlier report by the auditor drew attention to “fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R2 million that could have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised”.

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