The North West Legislature’s Committee on Transport Management has requested the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe the new scholar transport tender in the province.
It says it suspects irregularities in the awarding of the tender, which was advertised last year and finalized last month.
Six years ago, the SIU was authorized to investigate corruption during a previous tender, which the government was ordered to cancel.
The chairperson of the committee, Moloki Cwaile, says, “We think the SIU, to a greater extent, would assist us because we don’t think there can be so much fanfare about allegations of corruption when nothing has happened, but we do not have any proof. We agree, of course, that where the proof is available, we will be the first to arrive at the office of the Hawks, even if they take long, the Hawks themselves to process the cases.”
The Transport Department’s Hans Kekana has urged those who have evidence of corruption to approach the police.
“We want to nip this allegation in the bud. Ever since I arrived, this has been the allegation. Every time I get a media inquiry, it has this allegation, and my advice to those who are making this allegation is very simple: please assist us, go to the police, report this matter, open a case, let’s get the case docket. We’ve got a few cases in terms of the previous old contract where the police are investigating, and there have been some arrests already in those cases.”
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