Incompetence and poor financial planning are responsible for government departments' failure to spend their budgets, according to parliament's joint Budget committee's report on government expenditure.
Government departments in general spent only R20,8-billion (20,8 percent) of their allotted funds in their available current budgets.
"The level of current spending against the budget is an indication of capacity shortcomings As highlighted in previous reports, this is a persistent and negative trend that is ultimately indicative of weak human resources and financial planning," the report said.
The Department of Sport and Recreation has failed to spend its budget amid South Africa's poor performance at the Beijing Olympics.
A report tabled this week shows that the department spent only 12 percent of the available funds for salaries and services in the first quarter of the 2008/09 financial year.
The department spent R30,4-million of its current budget during the first four months of this financial year. Of this amount, R12-million was for compensation of employees and R17-million was for goods and services. The report's findings add insult to injury after reports this week that the department spent R11-million on a botched South African showcase project at a posh Beijing hotel.
Athletes and administrators have blamed their medal drought on a lack of resources and lashed out at the money wasted on the Beijing project, which could have funded the "neglected" Olympic team.
Last year the sport department gave R9.1-million to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
The report also warned that the department's 45 percent staff vacancy rate also "represented an ongoing risk".
Sport and recreation portfolio committee chairman Butana Komphela said Sport Minister Makhenkesi Stofile had been called before his committee to account for the underspending. "We have also asked all nine provinces to come and explain their lack of spending," Komphela said.
He explained that spending problems had started when provinces had failed to present the national government with proper business plans on how they intended to spend their allocations.
Without clear spending programmes, the government had been hesitant to hand over the money, he said.
Sport was not the only department to come under attack in the report.
The Housing Department, which has often come under fire for its lack of delivery, spent only R70,6-million or 14,2 percent of its current expenditure account.
Provincial and Local Government, Communications, Foreign Affairs and the Public Services and Administration were criticised for spending comparatively less than they had for the same period last year.
The report stated that of greater concern were the departments who spent "considerably less" than the amounts that they had planned to spend.
Chief culprit is the Public Enterprises Department that spent 30,7 percent of its budget compared to its target of almost 52 percent. This was followed by Communications, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Public service and Administration.