PSC Commissioner Concerned Over Non-Payment Of Invoice Within 30 Days

Public Service Commission (PSC) Commissioner Anele Gxoyiya expressed concern about the failure to pay invoices within 30 days, stressing that it violates public trust. He emphasized that there should be consequences for accounting officers who do not pay service providers within this time frame.

During a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday about the PSC's Quarterly Bulletin covering April 1 to June 30, Gxoyiya urged the National Treasury to urgently improve financial management systems and policies in departments.

He reported that, as of the end of June 2024, there were 1,651 unpaid invoices older than 30 days from national departments, totaling R97 million.

"According to National Treasury's first quarter report for the 2024/25 financial year on late payments of supplier invoices, the number of invoices paid after 30 days by the national departments was 30 571, with the rand value of R1.7 billion, as at the end of the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year," he said, SA News reported.

He added, "This, however, represents a regression of 2% when compared with the average timeous submission rate of 87% achieved in the fourth quarter of the 2023/24 financial year."

Gxoyiya praised departments that consistently followed the legislation and encouraged those appearing on the late payment list for the first time to maintain good performance by paying all legitimate invoices from suppliers on time, within 30 days as required by the Public Finance Management Act.

He noted that departments often cite various reasons for late or missed payments including misfiled, misplaced, or unrecorded invoices as well as weak internal controls.

To help departments improve, the National Treasury has provided recommendations to address the root causes of late or non-payment of invoices and to ensure they comply with the 30-day payment requirement.

The commissioner said that this represents a decline of 4% compared to the timely submission rate of 93% achieved in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year.

He noted that invoices from provincial departments paid after 30 days make up an average of 76% of the total. It is concerning that these same departments are not submitting Exception Reports on time.

In July, the National Treasury revealed in a report that during the 2023-24 financial year, national and provincial government departments failed to pay 362,068 invoices worth R35.1 billion to suppliers within 30 days as required.