Probe lets officials suspended in Tubatse land deal off the hook

Five officials from the department of cooperative governance implicated in the alleged corrupt and fraudulent Tubatse land deal sale have been exonerated by forensic investigations, Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha said this week.

Mathabatha was responding to questions from opposition parties in the legislature this week after delivering his State of the Province address in Polokwane last week.

The land was sold to a private developer by the Greater Tubatse municipality for R8 million, only to be bought back by the provincial department of cooperative governance, human settlements and traditional affairs for R116.5 million a few years later.

A report from Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu indicated the department had overspent on the purchase of Mooifontein farm in Burgersfort on 20 October 2015.

The auditor-general demanded the department explain why it overspent that much when no development has been carried out on the land.

Former MEC for cooperative governance Makoma Makhurupetje then reported the matter to law enforcement agencies, which began an investigation.

Makhurupetje also suspended five department officials believed to have had a hand in the land sale. They were former head of department Makoko Gregory, acting chief financial officer Setati Noko, chief director Mathunye Makhudu, acting deputy director-general Monama Rodgers and legal director Matemotse Minah.

The MEC handed the report over to Mathabatha, who ordered a forensic audit through the provincial treasury. But the report was not made public.

The ANC Youth League and opposition parties called for the MEC’s head and for Mathabatha to reveal the contents of the report.

This week, Mathabatha told the legislature: “The forensic investigations exonerated all the officials as no one was found to have committed any fraud or corruption in relation to the transaction. The report found the land acquisition process was facilitated by the Housing Development Agency and no fault could be attributed to the officials.”

The Democratic Alliance’s provincial leader Jacques Smalle said: “The mere fact a piece of land was bought for an excessive price, R108 million over the actual value of R8 million, should be enough to hold the implicated officials accountable.

“The treasury finding is in contrast to section 38(1) III) of the Public Finance Management Act which prescribes that procurement systems must be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. There must be value for money and, to date, this piece of land remains dormant.”

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