Transport officials probed over fraud

Most senior officials in Gauteng’s Department of Roads and Transport implicated in the irregular supply of government tenders are still clinging to their jobs in the wake of the suspension of department head Benedicta Monama on Friday. The auditor-general uncovered irregular tender awards last month following an investigation into the department. The auditor-general implicated the department’s deputy director-general, Prem Govender, in the illegal issuing of tenders. According to the report, Govender awarded a multimillion-rand roads tender to a dormant company. On Sunday, Govender said the matter would be dealt with through a disciplinary process. She said all enquiries about the auditor-general’s report were handled by the premier’s office. Some officials were fingered for supplying two security contracts irregularly. Other officials went on a sponsored trip with the department’s service provider, WestPoint Trading Enterprise, to Canada and India. The auditor-general viewed the trip as having created a potential conflict of interests.

The auditor-general also found that WestPoint was not supposed to have been given a tender for a turnaround strategy at the four testing stations in December last year. Motlalepule Mmatli, who sat on the panel to award the irregular tender, was also accused by Gauteng MEC for Finance Mandla Nkomfe of having colluded with Monama. Monama was suspended on Friday for her role in the illegal awarding of a R3 billion tender to WestPoint on April 21. Sources said Mmatli was rewarded with a chief director’s post on the day the R3bn deal was sealed. Mmatli was appointed as chief director of the motor vehicle and driver registration and licensing branch on May 1. Mmatli has had a close relationship with Monama since their days in the Limpopo provincial government. Mmatli joined the Gauteng Department of Housing soon after Monama was appointed as its head of department in 2005. Mmatli moved to the Roads and Transport Department after Monama was confirmed as its head of department in 2009.

On April 21, Monama personally confirmed Mmatli’s appointment as chief director. Her duties were to liaise with WestPoint after Monama had “irregularly awarded” the 10-year deal to roll out driver testing centres across Gauteng. Complaining about their role in the R3bn tender, Nkomfe wrote to their political boss, Roads and Transport MEC Ismail Vadi, on June 1, asking him to act against them. Nkomfe wrote that it had come to the attention of the Gauteng Finance Department that Monama and Mmatli “have entered into an illegal service level agreement with WestPoint Trading Enterprise for a period of 10 years to run 10 provincial centres”. It turned out that the contract was never put out to tender and Monama had blatantly ignored earlier warnings from the Gauteng Finance Department cautioning her against signing any contracts. A second warning letter was written to Monama on April 20, but she signed the R3bn deal the next day. Mmatli had earlier indicated that she did not want to comment about her alleged involvement. On Friday, Vadi announced the suspension of Monama in the Gauteng legislature.

Vadi said Monama “has taken leave of absence” and in her place Premier Nomvula Mokonyane had appointed Stewart Lumka to act in her position. Lumka is the head of the Finance Department. Monama’s contract ends on July 15. Vadi vowed to act on the auditor-general’s recommendation against some of his officials implicated in corruption. “I have secured the assistance of the state attorney in Joburg to provide legal advice on the recommendations of the report relating to the tender awards and disciplinary issues at hand,” Vadi said. “I have further requested the state attorney to provide legal advice on the R3 billion tender signed by Monama with WestPoint.” Vadi also told the legislature he had instructed senior executive managers to immediately overhaul the supply-chain management. He said the managers must ensure that all tenders “must be fair… transparent… and cost-effective”.