Individuals who were involved in the misappropriation of public funds through tender irregularities and violation of supply chain policies that led to the section 100 intervention in the North West province must be exposed and be charged, said the National Council of Provinces’s (NCOP) Acting Chief Whip, Rev James Mthethwa in Klerksdorp yesterday.
Rev Mthethwa is a member of the Ad Hoc Committee to Inquire into the Intervention in the North West Provincial Government in terms of section 100 which is currently in the North West Province.
Speaking during an oversight visit to the province by the committee as part of monitoring the intervention in the province Rev Mthethwa said part of the responsibilities of the administrators must be to expose those involved in the activities that led to the collapse of governance and sound financial management
“Those who are responsible for the missing monies must be charged, one of the responsibilities of the administrator is to make sure that those involved in the misappropriation are known and held accountable,” he said.
“Let us expose those people who led us to this situation – the community must know why it cannot get services” stressed Rev Mthethwa.
Another committee member Ms Lungelwa Zwane, who is also the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education and Recreation in the NCOP, echoed Rev Mthethwa’s sentiments and said those involved in the irregularities and financial misconduct that almost collapsed governance in the province will have to explain to the committee and to the public of the North West.
The committee is conducting oversight in the province to monitor the section 100 intervention and to gather more evidence in order to determine whether the intervention by the national government in the North West province is necessary.
In order to cover more ground in the province the committee split into two groups with one focusing on the provincial capital, Mahikeng, and the other in Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp and surrounding areas.
Yesterday (Wednesday 17 October 2018) the delegation that is focusing on the Klerksdorp areas, visited Tshepong Hospital and the newly-built Alabama Primary School and received briefings from administrators of the departments of Education, Public Works and the Office of the Premier.
Administrators painted a gloomy picture of how almost all supply chain management and project management responsibilities of the provincial government were outsourced to consultants.
The committee hopes that the intervention will be able to give a full picture of what went wrong in the province and where the missing funds went.
By Sakhile Mokoena
18 October 2018
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