SIU finds irregularities in Rooiwal project tender

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) said it has found irregularities in the appointment of the contractor tender for the Rooiwal project in the City of Tshwane.

The unit was authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2023 to investigate the appointment of the contractor for the project.

The SIU’s Gauteng head Sagren Reddy said when they started with investigation, they received a forensic report by Ligwa Advisory on the Rooiwal project that had focused on the awarding of the contract to the contractor.

The municipality had terminated the contract in July 2022 after the contractor abandoned the site.

Reddy said they had found that the forensic investigation was very limited as it focused on the awarding of the contract.

“We decided to investigate the value for money, public interest and the corruption aspect,” he said.

Reddy said the proclamation authorised an investigation into the procurement in contracting of goods, works or services by or on behalf of the Tshwane Metro and payments made as well as the unlawful conduct by the officials.

“The investigation is still continuing,” he told the standing committee on public accounts.

However, the investigation has found several irregularities.

“The investigation revealed the following findings to date: CIBD non-compliance, CSD non-compliance, SARS non-compliance, possible fraud with regards to the contractors’ bid and possible fraud and non-compliance with the Commissions Act,” he said.

He also said no specific allegations of corruption were received, but the high-level profiling was ongoing.

The tracing of funds was also ongoing and there has been identification of some red flags for lifestyle audits.

Reddy said the SIU has made a civil litigation referral to the Special Tribunal for potential losses of R39 million which was under investigation.

He also said two referrals have been made to the National Prosecuting Authority, 12 referrals were being prepared for the accounting officer for disciplinary proceedings and the SIU was waiting for a reply from the implicated officials.

He also said two administrative referrals were under investigation and two other referrals to regulatory authorities were under investigation

The investigation, Reddy said, has made systematic recommendations to the effect that the Metro should follow strict compliance of all policies, establish proper document management systems and ensure all supply chain officials undergo lifestyle audits.

He also said they observed that there was collusion between supply chain officials, bid committee members and service providers.

There was also over-pricing of goods and services as well as products supplied not meeting specifications, among other things.

Reddy also said the investigation into the CCTV project was still ongoing and there were no findings yet.