New Nkandla report fingers footsoldiers

Top politicians now seem more likely to escape blame for the controversial R246-million "security upgradings" at President Jacob Zuma's private compound in Nkandla, leaving public servants to take the fall.

Ten current or former employees of the Department of Public Works - including a former acting director-general - are cited in a report on the preliminary findings of a Special Investigating Unit investigation into the scandal. They are accused of failings related to the hiring of contractors for work on Zuma's home.

Details of the SIU's investigation are contained in correspondence from Mziwonke Dlabantu, director-general of the Department of Public Works, to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.

The officials are not named but the report states that more Public Works employees might be implicated as the unit's investigations continue.

The SIU is expected to hand its final report to Zuma by the end of this week. An interministerial task team report - widely derided as a whitewash - absolved Zuma of personal involvement in the scandal, laying the blame squarely at the feet of Public Works employees and contractors, who are accused of inflating prices.

This is despite Zuma personally bringing his own architect, Minenhle Makhanya, into the prestige project, making him the de facto project manager. The job earned Makhanya a R16-million "management fee".

In his report, Dlabantu writes: ". The investigation reveals that 10 employees or former employees of the department are probably guilty of misconduct due to acts and omissions in 15 separate matters related to the appointment of contractors for the security upgrades."

He also reveals that:

• Public Works hopes to conclude agreements on apportioning some of the costs of the upgrades to the police and the defence force by the end of July;
• The department entered into a lease agreement with the board of the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust on April 12 last year in connection with the property occupied by the state next to Zuma's home; and
• The police in KwaZulu-Natal, and the Kimberley office of the department, had expressed interest in taking over ownership of the accommodation for the police and defence force personnel on the Nkandla estate. The process is likely to be finalised before the end of next month.

The name of the former acting director-general of the Department of Public Works mentioned in Dlabantu' s report has been withheld. But in her final report Madonsela singled out former acting directors-general Solly Malebye and Sam Vukela for particular scorn.

Vukela was fired in July after being found guilty of negligence in the controversial R500-million Pretoria police headquarters deal.

Dlabantu's correspondence calls for the conduct of the officials to "be evaluated against the disciplinary code and procedures of the public service, as they are alleged to have failed to comply [with] and [to have] contravened the regulatory framework governing procurement, mismanaged the finances of the department and contravened the code of conduct of the public service".

In addition to an internal disciplinary investigation, the unnamed former acting director-general faces criminal prosecution.

Dlabantu wrote: "Among the 10 employees and former employees is a former acting director-general, whose conduct must be evaluated against the obligations placed upon accounting officers in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, which he is alleged to have contravened.

"The department has commenced initiating disciplinary proceedings against these officials, as well as criminal proceedings against the former acting director-general."

The Presidency's spokesman, Mac Maharaj, had by last night not said whether Zuma had been told of the Special Investigating Unit's preliminary findings, or whether he was expected to receive the unit's final report by the end of the month.

Zuma earlier this year controversially delayed responding to Madonsela's report, saying he would do so once the SIU had completed its investigation.

But his response could be further delayed by the decision of the previous cabinet's security cluster ministers to challenge Madonsela's report in court - a move blasted as premature because parliament has not yet pronounced on the matter.

Lucky Mochalibane, senior executive manager of communications marketing in the Department of Public Works, said: "The department. is attending to the issues and therefore cannot release any details at this stage."

SIU spokesman Boy Ndala said "time constraints" prevented him from responding to queries.