The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), the government agency responsible for developing national standards and testing, and certifying the quality of products, is facing serious financial and operational difficulties, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The concerns emerged following the presentation of the SABS's 2024/25 annual report to Parliament's trade, industry and competition portfolio committee on Wednesday.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Toby Chance , DA spokesperson on trade, industry, and competition, said the SABS recorded an operating loss of R69.5 million, with expenditure increasing by 14.1% against income growth of just 2.8%. The organisation also recorded R52.2 million in irregular expenditure.

According to the statement, the SABS published just 284 of the 360 national standards it had planned to produce, its lowest number since 2020. These standards set out requirements that products, materials, and services must meet to comply with particular specifications, including those relating to quality and safety.

Chance said a ransomware cyberattack in November 2024 had severely disrupted the SABS's systems, forcing the organisation to rebuild them. The resulting data loss delayed the publication of its annual report by more than a year.

According to Chance, the SABS has received an unqualified audit with findings every year since 2019/20, indicating continuing shortcomings in governance and compliance.

The DA also raised concerns about the absence of senior SABS leadership at the parliamentary meeting. No board members attended and the acting CEO was also absent.

A forensic investigation commissioned by Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau in February 2025 recommended disciplinary action against certain executives. However, Chance said the absence of senior officials prevented the committee from obtaining an update on the implementation of those recommendations.

Questions also remain over how the SABS intends to finance an estimated R1.6 billion refurbishment of its laboratories and critical equipment.

At the DA’s request, the committee resolved to conduct an urgent oversight visit to the SABS's headquarters in Pretoria, with senior management and board members expected to attend.

Chance concluded his statement by saying, "[The SABS's] decline has to be reversed as part of the Government of National Unity’s commitment to appoint fit-for-purpose individuals on merit, rather than the rag-tag collection of misfits who have run this treasured institution into the ground."