Officials’ removal not ‘state capture’

THE NATIONAL Treasury yesterday said that the removal of Schalk Human from the post of chief procurement officer, along with two other senior officials, was a case of trying to ensure they don’t act in a particular capacity for too long. “The changes were made in order to avoid a situation where officials act in positions too long,” it said after the shifting of Human was described by the opposition as a “victory for state capture”. As acting chief procurement officer, Human was responsible for overseeing the Treasury’s investigation into Tegeta and Eskom’s coal supply contracts. He was replaced by Willie Mathebula. Also last Thursday Jayce Nair was removed as acting chief director for the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) and Lindy Bodewig was replaced as the acting accountant-general. They were replaced by Phila Mhlakaza and Zanele Mxunyelwa respectively. Nair’s removal came after a furore erupted over the financial management of the IFMS project, with Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba rejecting as a “shoddy” forensic report by auditing firm Deloitte. But the cabinet last week called for anybody involved in wrongdoing regarding the IFMS to be dealt with accordingly. Yesterday, the National Treasury said Gigaba wished to stress that the changes were not an indictment of the officials who were moved from their acting posts. – ANA