A new report by the National Treasury has shown a year-on-year improvement in government’s payment of invoices to service providers in the 2021/22 financial year.
The report investigated national and provincial departments’ non-compliance with payment of supplier invoices within 30 days, considering the damaging impact late payment has on socioeconomics in South Africa.
Treasury requires departments to submit 30 days exception reports to the relevant treasuries by the seventh day of each month, with details of the number and rand value of invoices paid after 30 days from the date of receiving invoices, the number and rand value of invoices that are older than 30 days which remained unpaid, and the reasons for late and nonpayment.
The number of invoices paid after 30 days by national and provincial departments in the 2021/22 financial year amounted to 401 691 invoices, valued at R33.7-billion.
The number of invoices older than 30 days and not paid by national and provincial departments at the end of March this year amounted to 67 862, valued at R6.1-billion.
There was a 63% improvement in the number of invoices older than 30 days and not paid at the end of the 2021/22 financial year, which amounted to 134 invoices valued at R5-million, compared with 358 invoices valued at R426-million reported at the end of the 2020/21 financial year.
There was, however, a noticeable regression in the number of invoices paid after 30 days by national departments and a regression in the number of invoices older than 30 days.
Treasury continues to urge national and provincial governments to pay their suppliers in a more timely manner and recommends disciplinary action against officials who fail to comply with these requirements.