Minister Nxesi acts

Minister Thulas Nxesi yesterday announced that he requested a lifestyle audit, starting with himself and all management of the department, after internal investigations revealed 16 000 suspicious transactions to the value of R2 billion.

Nxesi said after announcing investigations in Public Works, allegations were made that he was siphoning off millions of rands.

He said these were just dirty tricks by criminal syndicates in the department.

“The only way to respond is to intensify the struggle against corruption in state capture,” he said.

SIU head Andy Mothibi released findings into investigations of procurement processes of leases by the department.

The findings revealed that landlords leasing buildings to the department have been over-charging and over-stating rented space.

He said an acknowledgement of debt found was over R500 000 that landlords must pay back.

A further 81 matters have been referred back to the department amounting to over R230 million owed to the department for over-payments. He said they were in a process of recovering the money.

They also found procurement irregularities in terms of the leases. He said many landlords submitted false clearance certificates in order to procure leases or continue leases.

Mothibi said in another investigation it was found that 2 469 employees at public works were found to be in conflict of interest as they were doing business with government.

He added that the SIU also found that some of the buildings leased to the department did not comply with the occupational health and safety standards. – ANA