Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) is to ask the national assembly to set up a full parliamentary inquiry into the rot at the department of water and sanitation
Parliament must give the go-ahead for such an inquiry to be instigated.
The water and sanitation department was brought to its knees and became bankrupt as a result of corruption and mismanagement. The previous parliament had decided to conduct a similar inquiry but it ran out of time, leaving the task for the current parliament.
Scopa chair Mkhuleko Hlengwa said: “Scopa believes this process should resume to give re-clarity on how the department ended up where it is financially. It is important for the full extent of the financial mismanagement at the department and its entities be known.”
Hlengwa said the inquiry should begin as far back as 2014 when former minister Nomvula Mokonyane was at the helm of the department.
“The committee will proceed with the necessary processes in its efforts to ensure that the full parliamentary inquiry into the department takes place as soon as conditions allow.”
Hlengwa said the “war on leaks project”, which cost the department R2.97bn also required scrutiny as supply chain management processes were not followed in its establishment and there was no budget allocation for it.
Scopa was briefed on Friday on the department’s 2018/19 financial statements by a team of officials of the office of the auditor-general, led by Andries Sekgetho, who has previously noted the lack of consequence management in the department.
The department itself is addressing corruption and mismanagement which dates back to between 2014 and 2018, but Scopa believes that progress in dealing with the unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure cases has been slow.
Alleged corruption and irregular expenditure in the department and the water trading entity which supplies raw water to the water boards amounts to more than R16bn.
Between April 2012 and September 2019, a total of 249 reported cases were investigated of which 139 were found to be true and were referred for disciplinary action.
Human settlements, water and sanitation minister Lindiwe Sisulu said recently that a total of 48 cases of serious misconduct had been found within the department, of which six involved deputy directors-general and chief directors. These cases involved irregular expenditure contracts with a value of R7bn.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is also looking into various matters related to the department and the water boards, with 20 criminal cases having already been opened with the police.
The minister recently appointed advocate Terry Motau to lead a legal team to probe fraud, corruption and irregular expenditure in the department as well as in some of the nine water boards.
ensorl@businesslive.co.za
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