Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane. Picture: SUPPLIED.
A task team has been appointed by the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Minister Nomvula Mokonyane to review complaints that have come to light regarding procurement processes and maladministration within the department.
Advocate Terry Motau will head the review and report on his findings within a period of six months, Mokonyane said. Preliminary reports will also be provided to the minister during the review period. Should underhanded involvement isolate any individual, organisation or company, action against those parties will be warranted, she said.
Minister Mokonyane added that should officials (within the department) “have infringed the relevant law or policy, the ministry will act to discipline them and/or report them to law enforcement agencies if there is cause to do so”.
Motau’s review will look into:
- Reviewing contracts that were concluded from 1 June 2014 to date
- Reviewing contracts that were concluded before 1 June 2014 and are still running
- Determining the value for money on concluded contracts
- Checking the compliance of companies within the PFMA and SCM framework
- Assessing the extent to which the department has benefited previously disadvantaged communities, youth, women and people with disabilities
- Interviewing internal and external individuals to get clarification on matters that have arisen from the probity process
- Evaluating internal systems to determine whether they are aligned with the revised strategic plan of the department
- Making constructive recommendations to the minister
“I commit to make the findings of the review public once it is concluded, practicable and legally permissible,” Mokonyane said.
Mokonyane has encouraged members of the public who may possess information that is relevant to the review to make submissions to the department. A submission process is yet to be announced.
“The ministry will not make a further public statement on matters under the inquiry until the conclusion of its work,” the minister said, and reiterated that the review was part of government’s “zero tolerance approach to fraud, corruption, and maladministration”.
