Note to Editors: Attached please find a soundbite in English here by Evert Du Plessis MPL.
The Lesufi-led government continues to intentionally block consequence management to shield corrupt officials. An investigation into the former Head of Department (HOD) for Roads and Logistics, Ronald Swartz, has been stalled because the Gauteng Department of Roads and Logistics is refusing to respond to the Information Regulator of South Africa (IRSA). The IRSA has requested the unredacted report on the issuing of bus subsidies between the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 financial years.
It has been nearly a year since the Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng laid criminal charges against the former HOD. The South African Police Service (SAPS) cannot proceed with the investigation without access to the complete forensic investigation report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The PwC report recommended that the accounting officer be held accountable for the fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounting to R70 million in the 2015/2016 financial year and R130 million in the 2016/2017 financial year, which was paid to Autopax as relief payments. Additionally, irregular expenditure of R20 million also occurred during this period.
The Information Regulator has followed up with the department regarding its refusal to provide the unredacted report. But to date, it has not received a response or an acknowledgement from the department. In March this year, the DA Gauteng wrote to the IRSA after the department refused to provide an unredacted version of the PwC, citing the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi is constantly boasting about his commitment to running a corruption-free government. However, the department’s denial of the DA’s request for the unredacted report indicates Premier Lesufi is not honest about his commitments.
The department’s refusal to provide the unredacted report is a clear indication that corrupt officials will continue to be shielded and that there is no political will to hold officials to account.
The DA Gauteng will continue to engage the IRSA on this matter, as the millions of rands lost to fruitless and wasteful expenditure could have been put to better use. Gauteng’s roads are in poor condition, and this money could have been used to repair potholes, fill sinkholes, and resurface roads as needed.
Corruption must not be tolerated at all, particularly in government. Residents deserve a government that is committed to rooting out corruption.
A DA-led provincial government would immediately implement the recommendations of any report commissioned to investigate corruption. We would also recover every rand stolen by politicians, officials, and service providers to ensure consequence management.