Sisulu orders security vetting for water officials

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is urgently arranging security vetting of her staff to allow them to work free of the suspicion shadowing officials in the bankrupt department.

Yesterday she said: “The most important thing for me is for my staff to be vetted and cleared immediately, so they are able to function.

“They will not be able to function if a cloud is hanging over them. I would like them to look proud and say they are working for this department,” Sisulu said.

She was answering media questions about the dismal financial track record of the department after delivering its budget vote speech in parliament.

Sisulu said she needed more time to understand how the entity was pushed into bankruptcy and had asked Treasury to help her set up an investigative team to achieve this within a short timeframe.

“I will not be able to understand until we have our investigation up and running and we get a report. Then I will be able to understand how we lost so much money and close those loopholes.

“The figures are shocking and I feel really sorry for the staff who have had to explain all of this to Treasury and the portfolio committee because I don’t know if they themselves know the extent of the damage.”

Sisulu was aiming to establish an internal probe, separate from the work of the Special Investigative Unit (SIU). The SIU began investigating the department in 2017 for tender and other irregularities in the Giyani Emergency Project. This was after the cost escalated from R500 million to over R5 billion.

National Treasury signalled in the same year that the department was R4.3 billion in the red, and that internal controls and contract management had collapsed. The trouble became apparent during the tenure of water and sanitation minister Nomvula Mokonyane.

The SIU report is not yet complete, but officials said disciplinary processes against about 50 staff members were in the pipeline, flowing from other internal probes as well.

Sisulu said she was determined that the department would be rescued from its financial and management crisis, adding that water boards were clearly corrupt and she would deal with this.

“We have a plan, we are determined to turn this department around.” – ANA