Head of NC dept suspended
THE HEAD of the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Ruth Palm, has been placed on precautionary suspension.
The Office of the Premier yesterday confirmed that Palm was served with her suspension letter last week Friday.
The spokesperson for the Office of the Premier, Bronwyn Thomas-abrahams, said that Premier Zamani Saul took the decision following the findings of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane regarding Palm’s involvement in the procurement of funds awarded to Traffic and Events Management Company (Traffic Events) for a festival that never took place.
“The Premier of the Northern Cape, Dr Zamani Saul, after thorough scrutiny of the public protector’s report, has decided to implement the recommendations of the report and place the HOD on precautionary suspension pending the outcome of an investigation,” said Thomas-abrahams.
According to the public protector’s report, which was released in January this year, R1 million was paid to Traffic Events to organise the Umsobomvu Youth Cultural Festival in December 2016.
This after Palm apparently requested an amount of R1. 6 million from the Northern Cape Arts and Culture Council (NCACC) to fund the festival.
The event never took place on the said date.
Mkhwebane indicated in her report that Palm acted unethically and ordered that appropriate action be taken against her, as well as others involved in the matter.
“The MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture should take the appropriate action against Palm in terms of the PFMA (Public Finance Management Act) and the Public Service Act for her improper conduct in requesting the NCACC to make a direct payment of R1.6 million to Traffic Events to organise the festival that was never held,” Mkhwebane stated in her report.
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Both the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and the DA in the Northern Cape have on several occasions called on the premier to take action against Palm.
The union and the opposition party have also alleged that Palm was involved in the procurement of funds for a Human Rights Day event in Colesberg this year that also never took place.
Nehawu, during a march to Saul’s office, alleged that Palm had allocated R1.3 million to an events company to organise an event during the national lockdown, when gatherings were prohibited.
Thomas-abrahams said the suspension is, however, not linked to the allegations relating to a Human Rights Day event.
“With regards to the latest allegations of misappropriation of public funds and the procurement irregularities levelled against the department, of which Palm is the accounting officer, Premier Saul has requested the internal auditors to conduct an investigation of all alleged irregularities and provide a report on their findings. The report will inform the way forward,” she said.
The public protector’s office in Northern Cape and the Hawks have confirmed that they are investigating the Colesberg matter.
The provincial manager at the public protector, Mlungisi Khanya, said the case is currently against the department and not against an individual in the department.
“Normally when we conduct an investigation it would be against the accounting officer. We normally raise our matters with the accounting officer and as the investigation proceeds would then reveal who was at fault,” added Khanya.
The spokesperson for the provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Conrad Fortune, also indicated that the investigation was launched against the department and not against Palm as an individual.
Fortune said that the money paid to the service provider by the department was for costs that the service provider incurred prior to the announcement of the lockdown.
“The Human Rights Day event was scheduled to take place in Colesberg this year. There were several communications and planning that took place on the event that had already commenced in late January or early February 2020. There were several consultations and discussions made with the national office as well as about the planning of the event. The service provider, after he was appointed to organise the event, subsequently appointed sub-contractors to assist in the organising the event. By March 13, 2020 the service provider was informed that no further costs should be incurred on the planning of the event. This was when the president announced that events should be cancelled and some be limited to a number of 100 people.
“The service provider halted the organising of the event after he was instructed by the department. The service provider was reimbursed for payment of more than R1 million for the cost he carried up until March 13. He was reimbursed before March 13 based on the documentation he submitted to the department to prove any expenses he suffered,” Fortune said.