Johannesburg writes off R45.16 billion in dubious expenditure over five years

Joburg Mayor Dada Morero has disclosed a staggering R45.16 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure written off over the past five years. Over the previous five years, theCity of Johannesburgand its municipal entities have written off R45.16 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful (UIFW) spending. The municipality disclosed this during Tuesday’s joint meeting with the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).

Figures presented in Parliament show that R24.46bn in UIFW expenditure was regularised or written off in 2024/25, R11.48bn in 2023/24, and another R5.74bn in 2022/23. The municipality informed the committees that the peak balance of UIFW expenditure was R23.6bn in the 2023/24 financial year and that R13.3bn was the post-audit balance at the end of June last year, which is a reduction of almost 44%. According to the city,the FY2024/25 balance shows a significant reduction in unauthorised and fruitless or wasteful expenditure, while irregular expenditure requires sustained supply chain management and contract management controls.

the FY2024/25 balance shows a significant reduction in unauthorised and fruitless or wasteful expenditure In the current 2025/26 financial year, the City of Joburg had a UIFW expenditure opening balance of R13.3bn and in-year declarations of R3.63bn in the period up to the end of March this year. It has already investigated R6.71bn pending submission to council and entities’ boards for approval after being processed by the municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) and entities’ audit and risk committees while another R7.58bn is under investigation. The municipality explained that regularisation does not erase accountability but resolves the accounting treatment after investigation and where misconduct indicators remain, matters must still move to the disciplinary board or law enforcement.

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The municipality insisted that it was making progress as the pipeline of UIFW expenditure was no longer only historical. It now includes the monitoring of current-year declarations, and large balances have moved from passive disclosure to investigation, submission, and regularisation stages. Meanwhile, its group risk and assurance services-led task team monitors declarations, investigations, and regularisation.

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