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The DA says public funds must be protected and used for service delivery, not misused for personal enrichment.
Democratic Alliance flag. Picture: @Our_DA/Twitter
The DA has laid corruption charges against several top officials in the City of Johannesburg.
This comes after a report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) implicated them in misconduct and financial mismanagement at the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC).
DA caucus leader in Johannesburg, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku told The Citizen on Wednesday that the charges are related to the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Officials at the JPC have been accused of irregular and wasteful expenditure of more than R18.3 million.
“We have submitted a comprehensive dossier of evidence to the South African Police Service (Saps), including the SIU proclamation, relevant Council reports, previous SIU findings, correspondence, and the City’s commissioned legal opinion. We have formally requested that this matter be escalated to the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority for full investigation.
Kayser-Echeozonjoku said one of the top officials implicated is Helen Botes, the city’s current Chief Operating Officer (COO).
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Despite many corruption allegations, the DA has questioned Botes’ promotion from the JPC.
“The SIU’s investigations uncovered shocking irregularities in procurement and financial management processes at JPC. Their findings point to clear breaches of laws designed to protect the public’s money and trust.
“Despite these serious findings being presented to the city and tabled before Council, no meaningful action has been taken.”
Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the party was informed that influential politicians are allegedly protecting some of the implicated officials.
“Even more concerning, whistleblowers have come forward to inform us that the implicated officials have allegedly bragged that they are untouchable, no matter how many cases are opened, because of their political connections at the national level,” she said.
The DA would also write to President Cyril Ramaphosa asking him to commission an investigation into the procurement processes at JPC.
“We have already started drafting a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting that he urgently considers authorising a full SIU) investigation into all contracts, procurement decisions, financial transactions, and property dealings at the Johannesburg Property Company over the past 10 years,” she said.
The SIU has probed many contracts awarded during the Covid-19 pandemic. In some instances, suppliers hiked prices for PPE, making enormous profits.
The Citizen contacted the City of Johannesburg to comment on the matter, which will be added to this article when it is received.
The Citizen understands that the city has commissioned a legal opinion following the SIU’s findings.
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