Justice Committee Expresses Concern Over Stagnant Audit Outcomes and Critical Governance Vacancies

The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development today received the Auditor-General of South Africa’s (AGSA) Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report (BRRR) presentation for the 2025–26 financial year.

The committee expressed deep concern over the persistent stagnation in audit outcomes, cyber security, irregular expenditure and critical leadership vacancies across key entities within the portfolio.

Out of the 10 audited entities in the portfolio managing a total budget of R29.62 billion, six achieved clean audits, three received unqualified audit opinions with findings and one received a qualified audit opinion with findings. Committee Chairperson Mr Xola Nqola said: “While the committee commended the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for improving its audit outcome through strong governance and internal controls, overall performance across the portfolio reflects a concerning level of financial and performance management complacency.”

The engagement with the AGSA highlighted several severe challenges, including a sharp escalation in annual irregular expenditure to R326 million in 2025–26, driven largely by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which contributed R289.4 million. The committee noted that the Guardian Fund continues to experience regression and financial losses following unauthorised payments linked to a cyberattack, alongside an additional loss of R13 million incurred during the financial year at the Pietermaritzburg and Grahamstown offices. Progress on modernising operations remains hindered, as the full rollout of the new SAP system remains suspended due to ongoing pilot challenges in Kimberley.

Meanwhile, leadership instability and widespread executive vacancies pose a direct threat to strategic governance and oversight across the portfolio. The Office of the Chief Justice has now been operating without an Accounting Officer for 15 months. Similar leadership instability persists across the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Guardian Fund, the President’s Fund and the Joint Administrative Fund, following the suspension and end of contract of the Accounting Officer. Additionally, the South African Human Rights Commission continues to face critical vacancies in both its Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer roles.

The committee also voiced serious frustration over the Integrated Justice System programme. Despite an expenditure of approximately R4.9 billion over the past decade, the vision of a seamlessly integrated criminal justice system remains unfulfilled due to weak governance, fragmented oversight and delayed strategy execution.

In response to these findings, the committee has resolved to step up its parliamentary oversight and enforce strict accountability from executive authorities and accounting officers. The committee will directly track the implementation of AGSA recommendations regarding Material Irregularities at the department and the Guardian Fund. Mr Nqola said executive leadership must also enforce immediate consequence management for non-compliance with supply chain management prescripts, unauthorised expenditure and failure to meet key performance targets.

Furthermore, the committee calls for the fast-tracking of the National Register of Sex Offenders Amendment Bill to enable the publication and public use of the register by key user departments.

Mr Nqola said that the department must expedite its ICT skills audit and accelerate the completion of wide area network and local area network upgrades to restore court efficiency and secure sensitive beneficiary data.

The committee later received a briefing from the Information Regulator and SIU on its annual performance reports for 2025-26 reflecting on the challenges achievements highlighted by the AGSA.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.