A preliminary report to Council has revealed corruption to the tune of R15 million within the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) by former officials before we assumed office in August last year.
As such I, in consultation with the City Manager, will launch a full forensic investigation into exactly how ratepayers money meant for their safety was used for, what appears to be, personal self-interest. The forensic investigation will be charged with looking into the exact transactions that lead to the money being misappropriated and how the city can best recover these funds.
This money was allegedly meant for procuring security systems for the city and the protection of our people. Yet it appears that those systems never materialised despite the money having been spent.
The preliminary report from the Section 79 Committee on Public Accounts to Council alleges that “the City has suffered a minimum loss of R15 181 430.63 as a result of the flouting of relevant supply chain management (SCM) legislation, policies and procedures.”
Specifically, the report alleges that:
- Senior officials in the TMPD flouted SCM policy in that they created orders of up to R10 000 not supported by the formal Three Quotations Rule and further sourced the quotations themselves when it should have been done by the local procurement unit as per the standard operating procedures.
- Senior officials gave preferential treatment by giving work to the same suppliers.
- Senior officials deliberately flouted SCM policy in that split quotations/orders were created to remain under the threshold that suited their authority.
- 23 quotations/orders were made in one day to one company.
- Less than three months later 33 quotations/orders were made in benefit of the same company.
Additionally, the preliminary report found that one senior official in particular had a gross conflict of interest in that quotations were obtained from related companies (same directors) which, at some point, had his wife as a director/member after having not declared such in their personnel file.
It is this sort of corruption that the City will not tolerate and that is why we have decided to launch a full forensic investigation into this suspected corruption.
If indeed the claims made in this preliminary report are found to be true we will not hesitate to exact the necessary disciplinary and criminal action against those implicated. We will also activate administrative actions to ensure that some of this money is recovered so that it can be put to creating a safer city for the people of Tshwane.
Fighting this corruption will also be one of the priorities of the incoming Police Chief, Ms Johannah Nkomo, and we are confident that, given her vast experience, we will be able to turn the tide on graft within the TMPD who are ironically responsible for upholding the rule of law and not breaking it.
The DA-led multi-party administration remains steadfast in its commitment to creating a safe, honest and inclusive Tshwane of opportunity.