A senior official at Walter Sisulu University (WSU), who was fingered by forensic auditors for improper conduct in the awarding of a contract, is still involved in tendering processes.
The Daily Dispatch has learned that Gert Labuschagne was assigned by the university’s vice chancellor (VC) Professor Rob Midgley to sit on committees which deal with tenders.
This is despite Midgley having had to discipline Labuschagne after Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo auditors, in a report issued to the university last year, accused Labuschagne of “dereliction of duties and negligence”.
The auditors were commissioned by then-interim VC, Professor Khaya Mfenyana, who has since been replaced by Midgley.
Mfenyana tasked the accountants with probing possible violations of WSU’s supply chain processes after Ougbee Logistics and Transport received close to R100000 in irregular payments and were improperly appointed to render security services at WSU’s Queenstown campus in 2014.
A whistle-blower leaked the irregularity to management and the finding of the auditor was that “corrective action” be taken against Labuschagne, who signed off the deal.
WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo yesterday said: “The VC asked Gert to perform a specific task to get the process going so the acting chief financial officer (CFO) would come in, review, run and conclude the process for the tender committees. Gert was never appointed to act as a CFO. He also would have never performed the duties of a CFO. Bottom line is we now have an acting CFO and he has appointed people to the tender committees and nobody else is duly authorised to set up tender committees.”
An internal e-mail dated July 7 this year, sent by Labuschagne to staff, announced: “The VC mandated me to finalise the tender committees in the absence of the CFO, Brigid Mosola. I have used information as was submitted and/ or proposed by the various line managers responsible. I have further been instructed by the VC to ensure the documentation for 5 x infrastructure development project tenders we have already received from the infrastructure development professional team, be processed as soon as possible. In line with the aforementioned I will send the referred documentation to the various tender committees for processing, in a follow-up e-mail later today.”
Contacted this week, Labuschagne confirmed he had authored the e-mail, but did not respond to further questions which were e-mailed to him.
Tukwayo said De Wet was “now responsible for the tender processes, and set up the committees. Mr Labuschagne sits on one of the two tender committees.”
De Wet was setting up tender evaluation and adjudication committees which will evaluate all tenders, not only infrastructure-related tenders.
The spokeswoman said the five infrastructure tenders serviced a combination of on-campus and off-campus projects.
Audit accused official still involved in WSU tenders
The Daily Dispatch has learned that Gert Labuschagne was assigned by the university’s vice chancellor (VC) Professor Rob Midgley to sit on committees which deal with tenders.
This is despite Midgley having had to discipline Labuschagne after Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo auditors, in a report issued to the university last year, accused Labuschagne of “dereliction of duties and negligence”.
The auditors were commissioned by then-interim VC, Professor Khaya Mfenyana, who has since been replaced by Midgley.
Mfenyana tasked the accountants with probing possible violations of WSU’s supply chain processes after Ougbee Logistics and Transport received close to R100000 in irregular payments and were improperly appointed to render security services at WSU’s Queenstown campus in 2014.
A whistle-blower leaked the irregularity to management and the finding of the auditor was that “corrective action” be taken against Labuschagne, who signed off the deal.
WSU spokeswoman Yonela Tukwayo yesterday said: “The VC asked Gert to perform a specific task to get the process going so the acting chief financial officer (CFO) would come in, review, run and conclude the process for the tender committees. Gert was never appointed to act as a CFO. He also would have never performed the duties of a CFO. Bottom line is we now have an acting CFO and he has appointed people to the tender committees and nobody else is duly authorised to set up tender committees.”
An internal e-mail dated July 7 this year, sent by Labuschagne to staff, announced: “The VC mandated me to finalise the tender committees in the absence of the CFO, Brigid Mosola. I have used information as was submitted and/ or proposed by the various line managers responsible. I have further been instructed by the VC to ensure the documentation for 5 x infrastructure development project tenders we have already received from the infrastructure development professional team, be processed as soon as possible. In line with the aforementioned I will send the referred documentation to the various tender committees for processing, in a follow-up e-mail later today.”
Contacted this week, Labuschagne confirmed he had authored the e-mail, but did not respond to further questions which were e-mailed to him.
Tukwayo said De Wet was “now responsible for the tender processes, and set up the committees. Mr Labuschagne sits on one of the two tender committees.”
De Wet was setting up tender evaluation and adjudication committees which will evaluate all tenders, not only infrastructure-related tenders.
The spokeswoman said the five infrastructure tenders serviced a combination of on-campus and off-campus projects.
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