Despite the high profile of major sporting and cultural events, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture faces governance and administrative challenges, including financial oversight and operational efficiency.
This was revealed by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), which highlighted that while the department successfully spent the vast majority of its multi-billion rand budget allocation, it faces persistent internal weaknesses.
These include extensive performance reporting gaps, procurement and contract management violations, weak consequence management for internal failures, critical vacancy issues, such as prolonged periods without permanent leadership.
These findings are in the AGSA’s 2025/26 budget review briefing to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture. It was presented on October 1.
However, Minister Gayton McKenzie did not attend the briefing. He submitted an apology stating he could not be present because he was attending a cricket event.
Despite spending 99.6% of its R6.3 billion allocation for the 2025/26 financial year, the department and its entities have come under intense parliamentary scrutiny for recurring structural and financial issues.
While the department achieved 80% of its planned targets, five key targets were not achieved, with inadequate supporting documentation and late approvals identified among the contributing factors.
AGSA linked the underachievement to weaknesses in performance management, monitoring, planning and reporting.
AGSA identified unexplained underachievement, achievements that were not adequately supported by evidence, poorly defined or incomplete indicators and inconsistencies between reported performance and supporting information.
It cautioned that dependence on external audits to detect and correct reporting errors weakened the reliability of performance information and affected accountability, transparency and assessment of service delivery.
The AG also reported continued material non-compliance with legislation, particularly on procurement and contract management, financial statement preparation, irregular expenditure, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, consequence management and the use of transferred funds.
AGSA also identified weaknesses in internal audit, audit committee effectiveness and governance at several entities. Weaknesses included inadequate monitoring of corrective action plans, insufficient internal assurance, repeated short-term extensions to outsourced internal audit arrangements and critical vacancies that increased governance and accountability risks. Weaknesses had been identified in disaster recovery planning and backup controls for the Department’s asset management system.
On transfers and subsidies, AGSA reported delays in disbursement, weak accountability by beneficiaries and risks that funds were not being used for their intended purposes.
On the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme, employment opportunities had been created in the arts and culture sector, but monitoring, reporting and supporting evidence had been weak. AGSA had identified instances of fraud and misrepresentation, including invalid bank details, manipulated payment information and inconsistencies between proof of payment and supporting bank statements.
McKenzie said fraud was committed by beneficiaries who must be subjected to criminal processes and face the consequences, adding that if any official is found to have facilitated such fraud, he will make sure disciplinary and criminal steps follow.
“Our response is aimed at the weakness the fraud exploited: reliance on documents supplied by beneficiaries themselves. Bank account details will in future need to be verified directly with banks rather than accepted from beneficiary-supplied proofs of payment. We will also use a system, in future, to validate identity numbers,” he said, adding that he is able to appear before the committee on AG’s findings at any time if members feel the need to direct any questions on these matters.
AGSA also identified delays in infrastructure projects and warned that prolonged delays could result in cost escalation, service delivery delays and additional financial pressure.
The root causes identified across the portfolio had included slow implementation of recommendations, ineffective monitoring of audit action plans, ineffective consequence management and critical vacancies.
While the National Library of South Africa and Boxing South Africa improved from qualified opinions to unqualified opinions with findings, modified audit outcomes had remained at Mandela Bay Theatre Complex, Iziko Museums, National Heritage Council and Robben Island.
Mandela Bay Theatre Complex had received a qualified opinion linked to irregular expenditure that had not been fully disclosed. Iziko Museums had received a qualified opinion linked to incomplete and incorrectly valued heritage assets.
The National Heritage Council had received a qualified opinion because supporting information had not been provided for some transactions and account balances, while Robben Island had received an adverse opinion because supporting information for various transactions and account balances had not been provided, resulting in material and pervasive misstatements.
The Mandela Bay Theatre Complex on Thursday said it will revert after engaging with its council, which acts as its accounting authority.
Iziko spokesperson Phumzile Zonke said the museum acknowledged its institutional responsibility for preparing credible annual financial statements and maintaining accurate and complete heritage asset records. Zonke added that the council, as the Accounting Authority under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), has acknowledged institutional accountability for addressing the historical deficiencies affecting heritage asset management and financial reporting.
The National Heritage Council did not respond, while Robben Island acknowledged the adverse audit opinion and material weaknesses identified in its financial reporting and internal controls, adding that these findings are receiving focused management attention, with corrective action plans being implemented to address deficiencies, strengthen financial management and improve audit readiness.
Meanwhile, the Association of Ex-Political Prisoners’ (AEPP) Mpho Masemola said the challenges facing Robben Island are the result of years of governance failures, declining financial controls and operational shortcomings that have damaged the reputation of the institution entrusted with preserving one of South Africa’s most sacred historical sites.