Ekurhuleni to probe irregular expenditure of R2m

TWO Ekurhuleni metro departments face internal investigations after “recklessly” incurring irregular expenditure.

At a council meeting last week, a report from the finance oversight committee recommended that Ekurhuleni’s municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) investigate the departments of communications and the metro police for incurring irregular expenditure identified in the third quarter of the 2016/17 financial year. The expenditure amounts to nearly R2 million.

Councillors approved the recommendations at the meeting.

The report tabled in the council on Thursday detailed how the communication and brand management department paid R470 000 to a service provider without a contract in place.

The expenditure is related to a December 2015 aerotropolis conference.

The department, in the report, said it had resorted to the measure after unsuccessfully evaluating bidders for the provision of a programme directing services for the conference. The Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD) incurred R1.4m expenditure when a contractor appointed for the construction of the Thokoza precinct station continued to provide a service after the contract had reached its awarded amount. The EMPD had exceeded the allocated amount.

The committee in its report recommended that the irregular expenditure be investigated by the metro’s internal audit department and MPAC.

In the report, the committee also raised concern that the departments were not implementing “any consequences management measures” to address the expenditure.

“Communication indicated it had not taken any action against anyone suspected of committing irregular expenditure. Instead, the department said it had requested Ekurhuleni’s internal audit department to investigate the matter,” the report said.

The department was awaiting the outcome of the probe before implementing consequence management measures. The departments of finance, communication and the EMPD were “on two occasions” requested by Ekurhuleni’s city manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi, to submit progress reports on the implementation of consequence management measures. But there were no submissions made by the departments.

The two requests were made in two separate letters on June 6 and July 13 this year.

The EMPD had reportedly not taken any action against anyone suspected of committing irregular expenditure.

In its report to the finance committee, the EMPD said the project manager had withdrawn from the project.

“According to the department, correspondence seeking a progress report on the implementation of consequence management measures was sent on two different occasions, on the same dates.”

In one of the letters, Mashazi asks department heads what action had been taken to prevent a recurrence of the irregular expenditure. No response is reflected in the report.