Auditor-General’s 2024-25 Report: Only 151 Clean Audits Amid Accountability Push
Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke released the 2024-25 General Report for national and provincial departments, public entities, and legislatures on March 26, 2026. She urged the South African government to boost accountability and service delivery. This comes after minimal audit improvements in the first year of the 7th administration. National and provincial departments, public entities, legislatures, and citizens who rely on public services are affected. High-expenditure sectors like health, education, infrastructure, and energy face ongoing issues. This matters now as these areas handle most government spending but struggle with reports and compliance, per SAnews.gov.za. This article covers confirmed facts, relevant context, implications, and near-term developments.
Confirmed Facts
The report assessed 417 auditees. Only 151 achieved clean audits.
In all, 266 auditees failed to get clean audits. These manage 88% of the total expenditure budget.
Also, 45 auditees saw their audit outcomes regress. This includes high-impact institutions that oversee hundreds of billions of rand.
The Material Irregularity (MI) process helped prevent or recover R2.41 billion in financial losses.
Irregular and wasteful expenditure dropped compared to the previous year.
Here are the key audit stats from the report:
| Category | Number | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Audits | 151 | Of 417 total auditees |
| Failed Auditees | 266 | Manage 88% of expenditure budget |
| Regressed | 45 | Includes high-impact institutions |
All facts come from Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke’s report, as reported by SAnews.gov.za.
Relevant Context
The audit process builds transparency and accountability in government.
The MI process has led to real gains. It promotes better use of public resources.
Examples include underutilised health facilities now back in operation. Unused buses turned into mobile libraries.
Tighter controls and more awareness cut irregular and wasteful spending from last year.
Key MI process successes include:
- Preventing or recovering R2.41 billion in losses.
- Reactivating underutilised health facilities for better service.
- Converting unused buses into mobile libraries.
- Overall drop in irregular and wasteful expenditure.
These points come from Maluleke’s statements in the SAnews.gov.za report.
Implications
High-impact auditees in health, education, infrastructure, and energy keep facing problems. They struggle with financial and performance management.
Many produce weak financial reports. They also fail to follow legislation.
Non-compliance, procurement flaws, and infrastructure delays persist.
The 266 failed auditees control 88% of the budget.
Many of the shortcomings identified are not due to a lack of legislation or funding, but rather inconsistent implementation and weak accountability.
— Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke (SAnews.gov.za)
These issues stem from root causes in execution and oversight, per the report.
Near-Term Developments
Leaders must strengthen institutional capability, governance, and oversight.
They should build on MI gains with decisive action and ethical leadership.
The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) commits to audits and support for public institutions.
This can improve service delivery and resource use for citizens.
Key steps from the report include:
- Apply corrective measures consistently.
- Boost oversight and accountability.
- Foster ethical leadership.
- Use AGSA audits for ongoing support.
All based on the report’s forward-looking points via SAnews.gov.za.
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