Two Special Investigative Unit (SIU) probes involving close to R450-million, paid to 37 service providers by the provincial education department for provision of laptops and learner support material, are complete.
The investigations, sanctioned by President Jacob Zuma through proclamations in 2015 and last year, implicated eight departmental officials in wrongdoing.
Two of those have since been fired. One resigned before action could be taken.
Two more have since been given written warnings, while the other three are still facing an internal disciplinary process.
This was revealed in a report tabled before the Bhisho legislature’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) by the department’s superintendent-general, Themba Kojana, recently.
The first investigation, launched by presidential proclamation No R598 of 2015, involved one service provider that was paid R59.2-million to provide laptops to the department. The company has not be named as it could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The other probe involved a payment of over R388-million to 36 service providers who supplied learner and teacher support material to the province.
In his report, Kojana told Scopa that the 2015 probe was concluded and that an SIU report was handed over to Zuma on March 10 while his department continues to act on its findings.
Zuma is yet to make the report public. His spokesman, Bongani Ngqulunga, yesterday failed to respond to e-mailed questions.
Kojana said last year’s probe was also completed and that “a report was being finalised for submission to the Presidency”. Civil litigation was instituted against the supplier involved in the 2015 tender.
He said “three referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority relating to fraud and corruption involving the supplier and two departmental officials” were made, while the service provider was “in a process of being blacklisted”.
In the R388-million tender, Kojana told Scopa that the investigation found that the material was procured unlawfully and irregularly.
The same eight officials were also implicated in wrongdoing in this contract.
Kojana told Scopa that the SIU also investigated whether any of those service providers “unduly benefited” in the deal.
“However, no adverse findings against them could be found. As a result there is no civil claim and it would be inappropriate to divulge their names,” he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, some of the investigations conducted by the department in the 2016-17 financial year has seen two school principals, from Fort Beaufort and Komani, being dismissed after they were found guilty of mismanaging funds in their respective schools.
Theft of 30 laptops in the department’s Cacadu (formerly Lady Frere) district offices, and 18 others at the East London Learning Institute, fraudulent school nutrition claims, false qualifications and the wrongful transfer of a R1-million to a Port Elizabeth school, forms part of the investigations the department undertook in the year under review, according to Kojana’s report. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
SIU ends R450m payments probe
The investigations, sanctioned by President Jacob Zuma through proclamations in 2015 and last year, implicated eight departmental officials in wrongdoing.
Two of those have since been fired. One resigned before action could be taken.
Two more have since been given written warnings, while the other three are still facing an internal disciplinary process.
This was revealed in a report tabled before the Bhisho legislature’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) by the department’s superintendent-general, Themba Kojana, recently.
The first investigation, launched by presidential proclamation No R598 of 2015, involved one service provider that was paid R59.2-million to provide laptops to the department. The company has not be named as it could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The other probe involved a payment of over R388-million to 36 service providers who supplied learner and teacher support material to the province.
In his report, Kojana told Scopa that the 2015 probe was concluded and that an SIU report was handed over to Zuma on March 10 while his department continues to act on its findings.
Zuma is yet to make the report public. His spokesman, Bongani Ngqulunga, yesterday failed to respond to e-mailed questions.
Kojana said last year’s probe was also completed and that “a report was being finalised for submission to the Presidency”. Civil litigation was instituted against the supplier involved in the 2015 tender.
He said “three referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority relating to fraud and corruption involving the supplier and two departmental officials” were made, while the service provider was “in a process of being blacklisted”.
In the R388-million tender, Kojana told Scopa that the investigation found that the material was procured unlawfully and irregularly.
The same eight officials were also implicated in wrongdoing in this contract.
Kojana told Scopa that the SIU also investigated whether any of those service providers “unduly benefited” in the deal.
“However, no adverse findings against them could be found. As a result there is no civil claim and it would be inappropriate to divulge their names,” he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, some of the investigations conducted by the department in the 2016-17 financial year has seen two school principals, from Fort Beaufort and Komani, being dismissed after they were found guilty of mismanaging funds in their respective schools.
Theft of 30 laptops in the department’s Cacadu (formerly Lady Frere) district offices, and 18 others at the East London Learning Institute, fraudulent school nutrition claims, false qualifications and the wrongful transfer of a R1-million to a Port Elizabeth school, forms part of the investigations the department undertook in the year under review, according to Kojana’s report. — asandan@dispatch.co.za
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