POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Municipality says the aim with the recent forensic investigation into suspected wrongdoing in the Leeto la Polokwane Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, is to recover over R17m.
The investigation was prompted based on recommendations by the auditor-general and findings by the public protector, after a fairly new company which was supposed to provide 10 buses for the BRT system, did not comply with its contractual obligations of the municipality resulting in the loss of R17m. The local municipality is said to have been the contractor’s first client.
The Mayor, John Mpe, confirmed that a portion of the investigation report implicates two top executives who were recently suspended and that they expect more suspensions to follow.
Read more: Polokwane Municipality suspends top execs for fraud of over R100m
Mpe announced these suspensions in May, months after investigations started and a summarised version of the report was shared with council members.
“Why worry about lizards when there are crocodiles? That is our approach. We started with big portfolios and we will explore all areas of wrongdoing,” he said during last Monday’s launch of the BRT system smart cards.
When he first announced the suspensions, Mpe said it was important to note that the executives were not guilty until proven so.
The municipality has not publicly released the investigation report as, according to spokesperson Thipa Selala, it names officials who must still be charged and face disciplinary action.
Other probes in the wider scope, according to DA councillor and caucus leader, Jacques Joubert, include irregular expenditure of R137m relating to the improper appointment of a service provider that performed a pre-bid evaluation process; verified acts of nepotism in the appointment of Extended Public Works Programme workers; irregularities with supply chain processes and fraud by human resources officials.
Although council members were provided with a summary, Joubert said the forensic report recommended that Mpe also considers investigating other matters that did not fall within their mandate and current scope of investigations, such as the existence of ghost employees in the municipality.
