The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the North West has lodged a complaint with the Public Protector and the Hawks regarding irregular appointments and tender irregularities in the provincial legislature.
Authorities at the North West provincial legislature, say they will fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies, after the DA in the province lodged the complaint.
The complaint relates to alleged irregular appointments and tender irregularities in the provincial legislature. The party alleges that the legislature’s Chief Financial Officer and Manager of Treasury, were appointed with no relevant qualifications.
The DA says it obtained information relating to alleged irregularities, fraud and corruption from a whistleblower in the legislature. Based on their own investigations, they discovered documents that support the allegations.
DA lodges a corruption complaint with Public Protector against North West legislature
DA Chief Whip Freddy Sonakile says, “Among things that we discovered here are acts of irregular appointment of the CFO of the legislature, irregular appointment of the Treasury Manager of the legislature. Tender irregularities around the appointments of certain tenders.”
Sonakile says there is also the discovery of irregular tenders, worth over R 2 million.
“Some of the discoveries that we made that there are other tenders that were acquired for about seven years that have been in this legislature operating, that when you check their documents is one company, it has just been changing names. The others you will find that it is companies that are owned by people who are close to the Speaker or any other official who is senior in the legislature…”
“When you look at their terms of reference, some of the things that they were supposed to do, they are not even delivered but are been kept in the system for years,” added Sonakile.
Authorities at the provincial legislature say they are aware of the allegations, and will cooperate fully with all law enforcement agencies.
Legislature’s secretary Oageng Mosiane says, “I want to assure South Africans and the people of the North West, that we will cooperate with all the law enforcement’s and oversight committees as the DA said they are going to take the matters to. But we also want to make sure that South Africans are aware that these are just allegations – wild as they are, we will cooperate and make sure that the truth comes out.”
The Office of the Public Protector, which has acknowledged receipt of the DA complaint, says assessment will be made for possible investigations.
