The Education, Training Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDP SETA) has come under fire for an accounting error that led to R637 million in unaccounted Discretionary Grant expenditures for the 2024/25 financial year. This emerged when the ETDP SETA appeared before the Higher Education Portfolio Committee to account for the reports about the R637m that allegedly went missing and was unaccounted for.
Accounting Error Blamed
Zamahlangu Mditshwa, acting Business Unit Leader at the office of the Auditor-General, said the auditors had conducted an audit on a sample of transactions on the R637m Discretionary Grant and they did not get supporting documents on skills development initiatives. According to the Auditor-General of South Africa, this lack of documentation meant that they could not express an opinion on the full R637m.
ETDP SETA Finance manager Khawedzo Ngaledzani put the blame for the audit finding on an error in the transactions of stipends that were recorded in their general ledger book. There was an error where there were transactions for R42m made up of seven transactions, and timesheets were maintained within individual business units instead of a centralised system, resulting in delayed submissions during the audit period.
Investigation Ongoing
Bulelwa Skweyiya, a senior manager at the Auditor-General’s office, said there was nothing to suggest the R42m was paid out or not. The transaction could be there or not, but they do not know, and this must be investigated. The MPs were not convinced by the ETDP SETA explanation, with EFF MP Sihle Lonzi stating that they are dealing with criminality and suspecting thieves who are stealing money from the SETA.
Some of the key issues that need to be addressed include:
- Lack of supporting documents for skills development initiatives
- Accounting errors in the transactions of stipends
- Delayed submissions during the audit period
The ETDP SETA has audited evidence to prove that the R637m has not gone missing, but the investigation is ongoing, and the Auditor-General will follow up on the finding during the auditing of the entity’s finances for the 2025/26 financial year.
