DA WELCOMES MEC COMING CLEAN

In a press conference held at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature today the MEC for Roads and Transport in Gauteng, Ismail Vadi, revealed findings made by an Auditor General probe into tenders awarded by the department (see report).

Glenda Steyn, DA spokesperson for Public Accounts in Gauteng said, "I applaud the MEC for making the report public so soon and especially for not trying to spin the findings of the report, but I think the findings show a shocking abuse of position and procedures. In some instances it may have been deliberate and not just the result of incompetence."

"I am concerned the problem goes deeper than purely the contracts that have been probed so far and encourage the committees to continue the process in determining whether other contracts should be subject to equal scrutiny.

"Whilst the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) is good legislation it is not comprehensive enough and additional legislation is required to fill the holes in ensuring that the awarding of contracts is truly transparent and fair," said Steyn.

Neil Campbell, DA Gauteng Roads and Transport spokesperson, was concerned that Vadi was using his senior management structure to refine the procurement procedures whilst some of these managers may well be implicated in the AG'S findings. He said it would be like sending in the poacher to protect the game. "It is also a pity the companies involved were not the subject of the investigation as the possibility exists that the rot may run that deep."

"After all due process I think it is important that examples are made of anyone found guilty and if the circumstance warrants it they must be fired and not given the golden handshake as usually happens with government officials," concluded Campbell.

Statement issued by Glenda Steyn, MPL, DA Gauteng spokesperson for Public Accounts, June 14 2011

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