The DA informed and forwarded the report on serious allegations to the Minister of Defence & Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Secretary of Defence, Dr Sam Gulube, to urgently call for a full forensic investigation into the board of the Castle of the Good Hope in Cape Town following allegations of extensive corruption.
These allegations came to my attention and I compiled a report that can be accessed here.
It is disheartening that such a historical monument, has been possibly plagued by corruption due to gross mismanagement as its highest levels.
A range of serious allegations have been made concerning the facility including:
- financial irregularities, such as the inexplicable expenditure of R3 million on maintenance on the heels of a R110 million refurbishing at the Castle;
- procurement corruption, such as the awarding of a R5 million tender to a service provider who did not meet the mandatory requirements;
- dereliction of duty, in particular by senior management;
- the theft of priceless artifacts from the Chinese Government exhibition, equipment, confidential documents; and
- irregular labour practices and victimization of employees.
This historic entity falls directly under the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and Minister Mapisa-Nqakula should ensure a thorough investigation is conducted and those implicated are held accountable.
To this end, the DA has provided the Portfolio Committee with the dossier and will demand a full forensic audit of the heritage site.
The DA will not sit idly by while the Department of Defence & Military Veterans allows our monuments to descend into ruins due to possible corruption.