‘Money’s everywhere, except where it is needed’: Fikeni tells Madlanga SA has spending problem

‘Money’s everywhere, except where it is needed’: Fikeni tells Madlanga SA has spending problem bombeleni_temp Fri, 09/18/2026 - 12:30

PRETORIA - South African does not have a money issue, says Public Service Commission (PSC) chair, Prof. Somadoda Fikeni. It has a spending problem.

Speaking at the Madlanga Commission on Friday, Fikeni said, "money is everywhere, except for where it is needed."

The PSC aims to promote professionalism in the public service. They also look at employee grievances, administrative failures and service delivery issue.

"As the PSC what pains us is that we meet departments like Land Reform where R5 billion was returned unused, the UIF close to 13 and R14 billion returned unused," says Fikeni.

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"You just find that it is recurring," he adds.

Fikeni has called this the politics of economic inefficiencies. Fikeni has also told the Commission that implementation is also a problem within government departments and government.

"Even if you have certain policies on paper, the implementation is not guaranteed," he says.

Fikeni also says inconsistencies in departmental positions where many senior people are acting positions add to the implementation crisis. Such "acting" roles make people reluctant to act, he says.