The Johannesburg official who paid R62.5 million for cars that were never delivered

A City of Johannesburg director paid R62.5 million for 20 vehicles that were not delivered, but instead of severe consequences, he faced little more than a token punishment.

Johannesburg’s latest financial statements revealed numerous cases of accounting irregularities and misconduct in the municipality.

One of these cases was linked to the city purchasing specialised fire and rescue vehicles and emergency equipment.

In November 2019, the City of Johannesburg paid R62.5 million to a provider for 20 vehicles. However, these vehicles were never delivered.

The financial report stated that the accounting officer was notified about the irregularity on 18 April 2023.

Curiously, the same report said the officer managed to take action against the implicated official in November 2019.

Although these muddled timelines should raise concerns about the report’s accuracy, what happened to the director is more concerning.

Instead of taking swift action, the implicated official was suspended for eleven months with full pay while the investigation was ongoing.

This means that Johannesburg residents had to pay this official for eleven months without him doing any work.

He was ultimately found guilty of misconduct. However, instead of losing his job, he received a slap on the wrist.

He only received a final written warning and was demoted to fleet and compliance management deputy director for twelve months.

During the debacle, the official only lost ten days’ salary between June 2021 and August 2021.

At the time of the financial report in June 2024, the municipality had only received 12 of the 20 vehicles promised. The lost funds have also not been fully recovered.

The lacklustre way this financial misconduct was handled showed that the city played fast and loose with taxpayers’ money.

It further points to significant failures from the municipality regarding its internal controls and competency.

This is only one example of many similar problems that cost residents billions in the City of Johannesburg.

In the 2023/24 financial year, there were 1,094 cases of accounting irregularities related to financial misconduct.

The Johannesburg municipality’s lack of seriousness about financial irregularities and misconduct undoubtedly contributed to its R872 million operating deficit.

The deficit represents a significant deterioration in performance from the prior year’s surplus of R4.5 billion.