Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu on 13 May addressed the media on the findings of investigations into reports of fraud, corruption and irregular expenditure at the department and its water bodies between 1 April 2012 and 31 September 2019.
Despite the huge backlog, the minister said 249 reported cases had been investigated and finalised, and 13 people had been dismissed. Of those 249 cases, 139 were found to have merit and were referred for disciplinary action.
The findings were as follows:
• 86 officials were found guilty
• 14 officials were found not guilty
• 24 officials resigned
• One official was reinstated following arbitration
Disciplinary action taken to date:
• 13 dismissals
• One demotion
• 11 three-month suspensions without pay
• Six two-month suspensions without pay, including final written warnings 
The Amatola Water Board in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo’s Lepelle Northern Water Board had also been investigated for irregular expenditure, mismanagement and poor governance, the minister said.
The CEO of Amatola, Vuyo Zitumane was currently on precautionary suspension to allow the investigations to continue. The department had also referred 18 cases to the police and the Hawks for investigation and possible prosecution.
Furthermore, an additional 151 irregular expenditure investigations and 13 forensic investigations were expected within the next year. According to Minister Sisulu, projects worth more than R16 billion had been awarded irregularly during the period of investigation.
The lack of consequences for these crimes was an issue that the minister said she would no longer accept, adding that she had appointed Advocate Terry Motau to lead a team of lawyers to review the reports.
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