The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) is under fire after audits reportedly revealed R145 million in irregular and wasteful spending, including payments for work that was never done.

The findings, reportedly linked to over R2 billion in irregular transactions, have drawn sharp criticism from the Public Servants Association (PSA) and raised concerns in Parliament about governance failures at the agency, which manages pensions for 1.7 million government employees.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Jan de Villiers, said the findings are “extremely serious” and signal long-standing governance and accountability issues at the GPAA.

“The committee views these findings as extremely serious,” de Villiers said.

“They confirm long-standing concerns raised by the committee in Parliament on issues regarding governance failures, procurement irregularities and a culture of weak accountability.”

De Villiers added that the alleged failure by the GPAA to investigate the irregular transactions or take disciplinary action undermines public confidence.

He also noted the partial recovery of R35.9 million from a service provider involved in the irregular lease of the office block and warned that recovering funds after the fact does not absolve those who authorised the irregular expenditure.