Last year’s game of musical chairs with regards the position of finance minister may have been pushed to the back of many minds, but that doesn’t mean our economy isn’t still feeling the effects of a Jacob Zuma special.

One example to drive home the point – his stint as finance minister wiped R95 billion off state pensions (more HERE).

To lighten the mood you should take a stroll down memory lane with the best tweets about van Rooyen’s rather short reign (HERE), they really are worth a second look.

After being booted from finance minister, Des was appointed to lead the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA). Here’s where the wheels come off once more, with this below from TimesLive:

[Democratic Alliance MP Kevin Mileham] said the department had become increasingly dysfunctional and “is failing to set the example for local governments with regard to cost containment and responsible spending”.

During the 2015/16 financial year‚ the department has seen its current year irregular expenditure increase by 184%‚ from R155,375,000 in 2014/15‚ to R442,458,000 in 2015/16.

The department’s total expenditure increased by almost 15%‚ from just over R59 billion in 2014/15 to just over R68 billion in 2015/16.

There’s one bit that really stands out, which is the department’s increase in spending on consumable supplies. Somehow this has risen from R4,5 million in 2014/15 to R122,2 million in 2015/16, an increase of 2 582%.

You don’t need to be a whizz with numbers to know that something seems off there.

A few more stats:

• Employee compensation and salaries and wages both went up by respectively 10% and 9%;
• Goods and services increased by 44.94%‚ an increase of R763,550,000;
• Spending on contractors by 42.89%‚ an increase of R544,498,000;
• Agency and support/outsourced services by 1122.94%‚ an increase of R6,805,000

Now of course one man isn’t solely responsible for the performance of the entire department, but when you’re appointed head honcho you ultimately face the music.

Perhaps there is more to this story than meets the eye, but from the outside it sure looks like another government department squandering taxpayers’ money.

[source:timeslive]