Building regulator’s chief axed for graft

National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) chief executive Sipho Mashinini has been dismissed after being found guilty on three charges, two of which relate to financial misconduct. This was confirmed by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale in a parliamentary reply to a DA question about an investigation into allegations against Mashinini. DA spokesman on human settlements Stevens Mokgalapa said yesterday that Mashinini had been found guilty on “three charges of corruption and financial misconduct”.

Sexwale’s parliamentary reply did not specify the nature of the third charge of which Mashinini was found guilty. However, it was reported in July last year that a staff memorandum had said Mashinini had been put on special leave following allegations of corruption against him after a meeting with Sexwale and NHBRC chairman Vukile Mehana. Mashinini was chief executive at the time the NHBRC offered Vanessa Somiah, who was investigating the organisation for corruption, a job with an annual salary of more than R1 million. The salary was allegedly nearly double her pay as leader of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) tasked with probing allegations of corruption in public housing.

Somiah resigned as an investigator and joined the council without telling the SIU. While in her new job, she testified at a disciplinary hearing against NHBRC employees who had alerted the SIU to the possible corruption. Sexwale removed Somiah from her post in July last year, according to the staff memorandum. The NHBRC’s governing council appointed Jeffrey Mahachi as acting chief executive. Attempts to obtain comment from the Department of Human Settlements were unsuccessful. Sexwale said in the parliamentary reply that the investigation into the allegations against Mashinini had been finalised and that the disciplinary action had been concluded.

“NHBRC council considered the matter and resolved to summarily dismiss the official (Mashinini) on the strength of the charges of which he was found guilty,” Sexwale said. The DA’s Mokgalapa said Mashinini faced nine charges of alleged misconduct, which among other things involved the contravention of procurement policies by awarding key contracts to inspect low-cost housing without putting the projects out to tender; signing contracts with service providers before concluding service level agreements; paying service providers for inspections that had not been completed; and recruiting the official from the SIU assigned to investigate him to a lucrative position in the NHBRC. Mokgalapa said some important question relating to Mashinini’s “missteps” remained unanswered.