State continues to waste taxpayer millions – AG

Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu has once again laid bare the extent of wasteful and irregular spending by the state after yesterday reporting that it lost R936m in the 2014-15 financial year to fruitless and wasteful expenditure from R1.2bn the previous year, notes Business Day. In his latest audit report, Makwetu says the state spent R32m trying to contain the wastage by cancelling irregular contracts or contracts of non-performers. Earlier this month, notes the report, Judge Dennis Davis warned of a tax revolt in reaction to state corruption and unwise spending. The state was spending more than it was receiving in tax revenue, the judge warned. Irregular expenditure – defined as money spent without complying with the law – amounted to R25.7bn, the AG report said. That, however, was a huge improvement on the R62bn recorded previously.