Kwashuba: SA investigators probe Sicunusa
MBABANE – It looks like heads might roll. Have you been told or did you know?
The Times SUNDAY can reveal that South African forensic investigators have been in the country for the past 12 months investigating one of the country’s big flops – the Sicunusa-Nhlangano Road project.
Government hired Lande Consulting to conduct a forensic accounting or financial forensics to investigate whether anybody or any party engaged in financial reporting misconduct.
Lande, which has personnel that has an experience working with the Hawks, is an audit, advisory and forensics practice established to provide a wide range of sustainable solutions to the business sector. It has an office in East London in the Eastern Cape, where its partnership with the Specialist Investigation Litigation Case Management (SILC) (Pty) Ltd offers forensic expertise in the province and beyond to service mainly the public sector. Lande Consulting Incorporated and SILC are partners and affiliates in major forensic investigations.
DIVERSE
It is said that the company has a diverse mix of skilled professionals ranging from chartered accountants, tax specialists, information technology experts and forensic investigators.
Lande’s professional services are streamlined along audit, independent reviews, tax, accounting, forensics and other related professional services.
The company is understood to be well established as it has registered offices in Polokwane and its Johannesburg satellite office mainly drives information technology solutions to both private and public sector clients. It has been established that Lande Consulting has completed the exercise and submitted its report to Auditor General Timothy Sipho Matsebula.
The forensic auditors or investigators are said to have applied a range of skills and methods to determine whether there was a financial reporting misconduct.
In April 2021, this newspaper reported that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was investigating allegations that a sum of E45 million was deposited to an ex-minister’s personal bank account. It is not clear if the forensic auditors discovered this alleged anomaly.
At the time, Kukhanya Civil Engineering Contractors stopped building the road, government had spent E532.7 million. This amount excluded the over E100 million which was paid to it for the termination of the contract.
ENGAGED
A new contractor, Inyatsi Construction, has been engaged to continue with the project. In a brief interview, Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg said government instructed the auditor general to conduct the forensics more than a year ago.
The minister said the exercise was budgeted and accordingly paid for, meaning that work was expected to have begun a very long time ago.
Rijkenberg mentioned that the report would be released soon. He said the AG was the appropriate authority to give timeframe for the release of the report.
On the other hand, AG Matsebula confirmed that Lande Consulting was engaged to also investigate certain parts of the Manzini-Mbandlane Highway. He said the Sicunusa-Nhlangano Road covered its larger scope of duty.
He said the initial plan was to release the report to the public. Matsebula pointed out that it was the wish of Parliament for the report to be made public.
Asked how they conducted the forensic audit, the auditor general said they interviewed key people who had knowledge of the project or involved in the project and also sought documents to assist the auditors to get truth about transactions.
EXPLAINED
Further asked how the forensic audit was different from the AG’s general auditing, he explained that the financial forensics went beyond the routine of an audit exercise. He said such forensics obtained evidence that could be used in court against people and bodies which participated in financial misconduct. On the other hand, he said the audit exercise that he conducted only raised red flag. He said the people who were called to give clarity on certain issues cooperated with the investigators. Comment could not be sought from the investigators as they were not allowed to speak to the media about the forensic auditing task given to them by the Government of Eswatini. Meanwhile, in an audit report released by the country’s auditor general, concerns were raised that the contractor, Kukhanya/Gabriel Couto
Joint Venture suspended works. This resulted in the project resembling a drought stricken grazing area. Matsebula reported that the project would be of compromised quality if ever it was to be completed by the current contractor.
Of major concern to the attorney general was that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport had been flouting and contravening loan requirements, rules, criterion, contractual obligations and construction standards from the first day of the project.
There were irregularities during pre-qualification of suppliers for construction works as the main contractor in the project, Gabriel Couto / Kukhanya Joint Venture was recommended for tendering stage despite not meeting prequalification requirements, according to the AG.
HIGHLIGHTED
It must be said that Gabriel Couto/ Kukhanya JV was among the disqualified contractors highlighted in a Prequalification Evaluation Report (PER).
The PER, which contained recommended contractors for the tendering stage and those that were disqualified from prequalification stage because they did not meet minimum criterion, was submitted to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
It was mentioned that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (employer) issued a directive to the consultant to redo the prequalification process, a revised report, which was done and submitted to it in December 2012.
Gabriel Couto/Kukhanya JV made it into the list of recommended contractors for the tendering stage after a second prequalification process was carried out by the project consultant.
Another cause for concern was that the main contractor in the project, Gabriel