South Africa’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development has raised concerns over deteriorating financial management in the justice sector after auditor-general findings revealed stagnant audit outcomes, rising irregular expenditure, cyber-related financial losses and persistent leadership vacancies across key institutions.
The concerns emerged during a briefing by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) on its Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report for the 2025-26 financial year.
Committee chairperson Xola Nqola said the overall performance of entities under the justice portfolio pointed to a worrying level of complacency in financial and performance management, despite improvements at some institutions.
Of the 10 entities audited within the portfolio, which collectively manage a budget of R29.62 billion (about $1.79 billion), six received clean audits, three obtained unqualified audit opinions with findings, while one received a qualified audit opinion with findings.
Nqola commended the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for improving its audit outcome through stronger governance and internal controls but said broader weaknesses continued to undermine accountability across the sector.
The committee highlighted a sharp increase in irregular expenditure, which rose to R326 million during the financial year. The Department (or Ministry) of Justice and Constitutional Development accounted for R289.4 million of the total.
Parliamentarians also expressed concern over financial losses linked to cybersecurity breaches at the Guardian Fund, which safeguards money on behalf of persons who are legally incapable or do not have the capacity to manage their own affairs such as minors, unborn heirs and missing or absent persons.
The fund continued to experience setbacks following unauthorised payments associated with a cyberattack while a further R13 million was lost at offices in Pietermaritzburg and Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown).
The committee said leadership instability across the portfolio was weakening governance and oversight.
The Office of the Chief Justice has operated without an accounting officer for 15 months while similar vacancies and leadership disruptions affect the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Guardian Fund, the President’s Fund and the Joint Administrative Fund.
The South African Human Rights Commission also remains without both an accounting officer and chief financial officer.
Lawmakers further criticised the slow progress of the Integrated Justice System programme, which was designed to create a seamless information-sharing platform across South Africa’s criminal justice institutions.
Despite spending approximately R4.9 billion over the past decade, the programme has yet to deliver a fully integrated criminal justice system. The committee attributed the delays to weak governance, fragmented oversight and poor implementation.
JN/APA