Ekurhuleni slated for spending spree

A total of R112 million. That’s how much the Ekurhuleni Metro has spent on consultants in the current financial year alone. This was revealed in response to written questions by DA Ekurhuleni chief whip Ashor Sarupen, after the Auditor-General revealed earlier this year that the government was over-reliant on consultants to do routine management tasks. Sarupen asked whether the municipality was looking at ways to reduce the number of consultants and consulting firms being used by departments, given that there were public servants employed to perform the same duties. He was told that the departments in the metro that spent the most on consultants included finance, which spent R29.5m, and the internal audit department with R11.2m.

The response said the consultant budget also accommodated the costs of “certain projects, such as the aerotropolis programme, which could cover a variety of expenditure and not only consultant fees. The consultant vote was also used by some departments to appoint independent contractors for a specific contract duration/period”. The metro denied the duties of consultants were the same as those performed by public servants. “The appointment of consultants is normally warranted on the fact that a department needs specialised knowledge for specific projects. Such appointments in most cases are to conduct a specific study over a limited period of time.”

However, Sarupen slated the expenditure on consultants, saying: “As it stands, and has been for the past two years, the aerotropolis project has been nothing more than a concept on paper, despite all the advertising that the metro has poured into it. “To justify the massive amount spent on consultants as aerotropolis expenditure, when the project doesn’t even have specifics or timelines, is an insult to the intelligence of councillors and residents.” He added that the metro employed almost 17 000 people and it should be seeking to employ capable, qualified individuals rather than have consultants “double up”. “Last year, the municipality passed an institutional review that created a new staffing structure meant to plug the gaps, and the ANC justified its massive expenses on new top-level positions as necessary to perform specialised management functions. “Looking at the expense in consultants, the institutional review clearly has failed the metro,” said Sarupen.

According to the Attorney-General’s report:

• The Department of Defence spent R10.4 billion on consultants between 2008 and 2011.
• The Department of Police spent just over R4bn in that period.
• The report also revealed that the Defence Department had paid R860 million over three years to aircraft specialists from aviation company Aero Manpower Group, a business unit of Denel Aviation.

Both departments admitted that their monitoring of contracts and service agreements was not effective, economical or efficient.