EThekwini still sitting on graft probe - union

The eThekwini Municipality is sitting on the findings of a year-old inquiry into alleged corruption in Durban's electricity department.

Shop stewards from the Samwu municipal union told the Sunday Times that a report on the investigation by deputy city manager Sipho Cele last June should have been handed to the Minister of Co-operative Governance, Sicelo Shiceka, within three days of the probe.

A transcript of interviews held as part of the investigation confirms that a report ought to have also been submitted to union representatives who had been part of the inquiry.

Ethekwini deputy city manager Derek Naidu told the Sunday Times that the report was still being finalised.

The issue came to a head when Samwu threatened to strike two days before the May 18 local government elections, if the report was not produced.

This prompted the provincial ANC leadership to meet with Samwu and Cosatu representatives. They promised to have the matter investigated.

Two officials were put on special leave this week - human resources senior manager Vincent Mthembu and a senior executive in the electricity department, Raj Dhrochand - following pressure from Samwu.

The electricity department inquiry was based on union allegations of corruption and is separate from two other current investigations. One, by the Special Investigating Unit, which is looking into housing corruption, and the other is a forensic audit by KwaZulu-Natal's MEC for Co-operative Governance, Nomusa Dube.

Dube's probe covers irregular expenditure of budgets, flouting of supply chain processes in the awarding of tenders and fraudulent activities within the Durban Metro Police, among other departments.

Now unions are asking why eThekwini officials did not alert Dube to the electricity department investigation.

The Sunday Times has seen a transcript of Cele's probe in which shocking allegations emerged about:

• Collusion involving four electricity companies awarded all department contracts, to the disadvantage of emerging contractors;

• A senior employee who for 10 years has occupied a junior post where he is responsible for drawing up specifications for tenders. The report alleges collusion and deliberate manipulation of tender processes;

• A senior executive who resigned and emigrated to Canada but was re-hired after his wife became homesick. The municipality contributed thousands of rands to relocate his family back into the country. Another senior executive emigrated to Australia but later returned to find his old job waiting for him;

• Jobs given to relatives and friends of senior managers while long-serving staff are overlooked for promotions; and

• Allegations of collusion between municipal employees and contractors in copper cable theft costing the municipality millions of rands to replace.

Union officials have alleged separately that an R11.5-million electricity contract to rewire old council flats in Durban South was awarded in 2007 without going to tender. The city paid the contractor's bill despite internal advice to withhold payment because the work was dangerously shoddy and could open the city to lawsuits.

Deputy city manager Naidu confirmed this week that the city was going to pay millions to redo the work at the flats, but denied that the contract was corruptly awarded. "There were problems with wiring and power-supply. the net effect of that is that the work that was done two years ago is being done again as a result of complaints received from the community," said Naidu.