BL Premium reports that the recently appointed CFO of the National Treasury, Priya Lutchman, was selected for the position in December despite her having been suspended from the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture & Recreation (DSAC&R) for tender irregularities.  

Questions were raised about her appointment on Wednesday by Democratic Alliance (DA) finance spokesperson Geordin Hill-Lewis during a briefing by Treasury officials on the department’s annual report.  Lutchman was CFO of the DSAC&R when she was suspended in July/August 2020 with two other officials for substantiated tender and appointment irregularities amounting to R43m.  According to Hill-Lewis, she resigned before disciplinary proceedings could be instituted and applied to the National Treasury to become CFO without disclosing the fact of her suspension in her previous employment.  Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said in reply to Hill-Lewis’s questions that the Treasury had only became aware of the suspension after Lutchman’s appointment.  He said processes were under way to verify the facts and to have the file transferred from the Gauteng provincial government.  “If there is any wrongdoing we will institute disciplinary measures with Gauteng jointly and appropriate action will be taken,” Mogajane indicated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page