More audit bombshells at BAMB
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday May 18, 2026 06:00
The latest revelations come after the recent Auditor General report flagged P197 million in unaccounted for funds at BAMB. The funds were disbursed by government to BAMB to help procure produce from local farmers in order to restock the Strategic Grain Reserves.
On Monday, appearing before Parliament’s ongoing Statutory Bodies proceedings, Scheepers painted a troubling picture of an organisation crippled by weak internal controls, poor accountability, deteriorating infrastructure, and widespread negligence.
According to Scheepers, one of the most alarming discoveries since she took office in January involved the continued purchase of diesel for vehicles that have long been grounded and out of service. She said she was shocked to find that BAMB was paying nearly P300,000 for diesel despite only a handful of the fleet being operational.
The CEO explained that documentation surrounding fleet management was severely lacking, with invoices reportedly carrying no vehicle registration numbers, mileage records, logbooks, maintenance histories or complete job cards. She further raised concerns over mechanical companies contracted to service the fleet, saying request-for-quotation documents and maintenance records were incomplete.
“There is a lot of negligence,” she told the committee. “Who checked whether these vehicles were indeed serviced?”
She added that one recent incident saw a truck wheel detach and strike a woman, highlighting the potential dangers linked to poor vehicle maintenance practices.
Scheepers said the problems at BAMB extend beyond fleet management, describing an entrenched culture of corruption and operational disorder. She told parliamentarians that the institution has struggled with stock management challenges, deteriorating buildings, failure to follow proper paperwork procedures and a lack of financial reconciliation systems.
“BAMB has been losing money, but no action has been taken. “There is a lack of accountability, bad habits are allowed, notes from auditors are ignored, and actions are not taken,” she said.
Further, she noted that findings reportedly uncovered that BAMB has operated without contracts with distributors since 2018, exposing the organisation to significant financial and operational risks.
In another major revelation, Scheepers disclosed that a random check revealed that in February, BAMB lost approximately P450,000 after 2,160 bags of 50kg sorghum went missing. The grain had allegedly been loaded onto three 34-tonne trucks for delivery to one of the organisation’s branches, but never arrived at its intended destination.
“This happened in February when three trucks carrying sorghum were dispatched at different times to a branch. “Upon contacting the branch, I realised there was no record of the stock arriving,” she said.
The discovery prompted management to temporarily halt the movement of grain while internal control systems were reviewed and corrected.
“I cannot continue putting stock into a system that has no control measures. The system is not integrated with finance, and it does not provide the reports I need,” Scheepers added.
The CEO also highlighted the deteriorating state of BAMB’s infrastructure, saying warehouses and other facilities have been neglected for years without proper maintenance.