Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Department of Water and Sanitation was the biggest culprit in accumulating a significant amount of unpaid invoices, with the department owing on 199 invoices worth R266 729 456 at the end of December 2021.
This was according to the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) quarterly Pulse of the Public Service Bulletin which covered the period between 1 October and 31 December 2021.
He said the most worrying effect of non-payment was the significant interest charged to government departments in owed penalties.
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“Late and non-payment of suppliers can expose departments to costly litigation for non-payment, including being ordered to pay interest on late payments resulting in the already scarce financial resources being diverted from priority areas.
“A case in point is the revelation in a written response to questions in the Gauteng legislature by the MEC for Health that the provincial Department of Health in 2020/21 paid R5 642 301 of interest on late payments while still owing a further R91.8 million for penalty interest,” Gxoyiya said.
For years, the PSC had pointed to concerns about government departments at the provincial and national levels not paying suppliers on time.
National Treasury regulations mandate government departments to pay suppliers within a 30-day period.
The previous reporting to National Treasury showed several government departments had adhered to the policy, but some remained behind with its payments.
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The national Department of Water and Sanitation had 199 unpaid invoices amounting to R266 729 456 in December 2021. The number of invoices increased from 169 in September 2021 at R351 373 606.
The Department of Mineral Resources was also flagged as problematic, owing R1 221 793 in unpaid invoices.
The PSC was also concerned that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s property management trading entity had seen a significant increase in unpaid invoices compared to the previous quarter.
The department recorded 356 unpaid invoices in December 2021 compared to 23 in September 2021 at the cost of R4 343 261.
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The PSC noted that some government departments had improved in addressing unpaid invoices, but submissions for the report were often submitted late.
The departments that had shown improvement included the Department of Basic Education, the Department of High Education and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development did not report as mandated by law in the quarter ending in September. The department owed 71 unpaid invoices valued at R16 244 672 as of December 2021.
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