Graft buster appointed

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has appointed advocate Terry Motau SC to lead a team of lawyers reviewing all fraud, corruption and irregular expenditure reports in the department.

Sisulu said there was a lack of consequence management in the department and as a result, many officials implicated in fraud and corruption were either still at work or suspended with pay.

“I have directed Adv Motau and a team that he is going to be working with that I want all reports on fraud, corruption and irregular expenditure of the department and all water boards to be reviewed and all recommendations be implemented.

“Officials and service providers involved in corruption must face the consequences,” Sisulu said on Tuesday.

In 2018, Motau released his report, The Great Bank Heist, which looked into fraud and corruption at the now-defunct VBS Bank, compiled with Werksmans Attorneys.

The report estimated that nearly R2 billion was looted from the bank. More than 50 people benefitted, News24 reported.

Sisulu said she, therefore, believed Motau had the necessary experience to lead the team of professionals to ensure there would be consequence management and value for money in the water sector.

She wanted priority to be given to all allegations facing water boards and senior managers of the department.

“I received a report that more than R16 billion worth of projects have been issued irregularly, including blanket corruption and fraud by officials, to the extent of awarding tenders to themselves and close relatives,” Sisulu said.

Last week, AmaBhungane reported the chief executives of both Amatola Water and Lepelle Northern Water claimed they were being targeted because they were standing in the way of efforts to manipulate tenders and appoint a well-connected company for drought relief programmes.

At the heart of the accusations is Mphumzi Mdekazi, a close confidante and advisor to Sisulu.

Amatola Water chief executive Vuyo Zitumane and Lepelle Northern Water chief executive Phineas Legodi both state in affidavits that Mdekazi and the department have tried to pressure them into using a technology called sand water abstraction, to extract water from sandy riverbeds.

Both are on “precautionary suspension”. – News24 Wire

Officials and service providers involved in corruption must face the consequences.