The Citizen reports that ahead of a report in November by Auditor_General Kimi Makwetu, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, has uncovered more disturbing corruption revelations within her department.
Admitting that the department’s register of over 30,000 pieces of land and more than 81,000 buildings contained significant problems, De Lille has called for its overhaul, as well as intensified action against corrupt officials. In July, she announced that all tenders issued by her department would be fully open for public scrutiny in a bid to root out corruption related to leases. She also directed that lifestyle audits be conducted on the department’s senior staff, for finalisation by June 2020. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has meantime conducted 2,325 probes in the department, half of which were reported to be finalised in July. It has been tasked with recouping some R403 million in looted money, and is still investigating 2,162 building leases that have raised red flags. In July, the Public Service Commission was also reported to be finalising its report into irregular appointments within the department, with Phase One revealing that 11 out of 37 senior management members had been irregularly appointed. Phase Two dealt with the appointment of 677 staff members at levels below senior management, of which 94 were so far found to have been irregularly appointed.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
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