Senior Gauteng officials charged over R500m road construction tender
THE Gauteng provincial government has charged five of its senior officials in the roads and transport department, including head of department Ronald Swartz, following the illegal award of a road construction tender worth more than R500 million to Lubbe Construction.
Yesterday, the Gauteng provincial government confirmed that Premier David Makhura had placed Swartz on special leave before summoning him before a disciplinary committee to answer to charges relating to the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Swartz, was contacted for comment but did not respond to calls.
Gauteng provincial government spokesperson Thabo Masebe said the provincial government had already instituted disciplinary proceedings against Swartz and four other senior officials in the department. The four officials were members of the Bid Adjudication Committee that recommended the award of a R550m tender to Lubbe Construction for the construction and upgrade of the William Nicol Road (K46) in Diepsloot, north of Joburg, in 2014.
The forensic investigation in December 2017 was prompted by a whistleblower, Bonga Majola, telling Makhura about an advance payment of more than R26m made to Lubbe Construction in September 2016.
The whistleblower initially told Makhura in June 2017 that he had reported the irregular payment to Swartz, claiming no action was taken despite it being required by the National Treasury, Public Finance Management Act and provisions of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004.
Masebe said the contract had since been terminated and a new tender would be initiated through the open tender system.
He said Makhura “regards poor management by officials of infrastructure projects and dismal performance by contractors as a serious matter”.
Masebe said the Gauteng provincial government had enlisted the support of the Special Investigating Unit to look into the amounts that were allegedly overpaid to the contractor.
“The department will embark on a new, open tender procurement process to complete the project in due course.
“The Gauteng provincial government acknowledges that the regrettable delay in completing the project has caused inconvenience to road users, residents and the business community in the area,” Masebe said.
Independent Media has seen the forensic report by BDO which has recommended disciplinary action against Swartz and four of his officials.
In the executive summary report, BDO said Swartz had contravened the National Treasury Regulations in that he failed to institute an investigation within 30 days after being informed in March 2017 that Lubbe Construction was given an advance payment of R26m.
The report also found that Swartz contravened the PFMA in that he failed to immediately report in writing to the Gauteng Provincial Treasury the particulars of the irregular payments made to the contractor in September 2016. The report also found that Swartz has also contravened five other prescripts of the PFMA.