South African embassies overseas neglected and crumbling

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)’s audit opinion has regressed from an unqualified audit with findings to a qualified audit with findings.

The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) briefed Parliament on DIRCO’s financial regression, following three consecutive years of unqualified audits, on 8 October. 

The Democratic Alliance (DA) alleged in a statement that the Department’s asset management for overseas missions is to blame. 

However, the Department’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, told Newsday that the DA’s statement is misleading.

“The qualification had nothing to do with the fixed assets, including the properties,” Phiri said. The spokesperson acknowledged, however, that some of these properties have not been maintained in over 16 years. 

Assets that had been identified as obsolete have not been disposed of, persistent procurement violations were noted, as well as a lack of consequence management. Financial statements contained various errors.

The primary cause of the qualification was the department’s non-compliance as well as a regression in asset management.

The department failed to keep a credible asset register. The register was found to be understated by over R112 million, with R983.6 million in unverified items. 

The DA said that the department’s management of state-owned properties abroad for diplomatic use was a key cause of the financial regression. 

It was reported that South African embassies worldwide struggled with network connection issues as well as a lack of maintenance. 

Commenting on the AG report, uMkhonto weSizwe MP Wesley Douglas said that the department’s financial performance is shocking. 

“Buildings and embassies are falling apart. This is really not acceptable. The committee notes that there is a 24.6% vacancy rate, including key positions at missions and severe ICT governance failures,” said 

“Missions have been offline for most of the year, and biometric systems have been bypassed for handwritten visas. Who does handwritten visas still? What kind of nonsense is this?”

The South African embassy in Paris is operating at 50% capacity. Issues were raised with regard to roof damage, mold, and poor ventilation, as well as non-functional security measures such as CCTV cameras.

Mold, broken windows, and handwritten visas

The Bangkok mission is unable to serve Cambodia or Laos due to budget constraints. Douglas said this is hugely problematic, as human trafficking in these areas is known to be on the rise. 

In Rome, renovations for the South African mission were paid for and purportedly completed, but the Parliamentary Committee found that the renovations had not been done. 

An online oversight visit with the South African Mission in Islamabad, found that here too, ITC issues and slow visa processing were frequent problems.

The South African consulate in Shanghai is dilapidated, causing “reputational damage” to the country, according to Douglas. 

The Embassy in the Hague has over 30 broken windows that have not been replaced, leading to the embassy being reported to the local municipal council. 

According to Ryan Smith, the DA’s Spokesperson on International Cooperation, South African officials “treat their deployment as a paid holiday of debauchery on a maroon passport, rather than a crucial and prestigious posting with critical objectives.”

The DA said that “priceless artifacts and historical pieces” are going missing in many embassies and high commission properties. 

Phiri said that the department has taken on the responsibilities of the property portfolio from Public Works. “DIRCO did so without the budgets or personnel,” he said. 

“DIRCO has a plan to renovate the properties and dispose of those that are not financially viable, as detailed to the Portfolio Committee.” Phiri said the DA was part of these meeting and is aware of these plans. 

Nonetheless, the DA blames Minister Ronald Lamola for the state of disrepair of the overseas state-owned properties. 

“It is clear that DIRCO’s priorities are not aligned with the needs of the South African people, and South Africa’s international image, much like our embassy buildings, is decaying as a result,” said Smith.