While the DA prepares to open a criminal case over a R5.1m personal protective equipment tender, the KwaZulu-Natal arts and culture portfolio commission believes there was no foul play involved.
The DA said it would open the fraud and corruption charges against provincial arts and culture head Nontokozo Chonco at the Durban Central Police Station on Thursday.
The charges, as per a DA statement released on Monday, relates to tenders of up to R5.1m to procure PPE for eight modular libraries in KwaNzimakwe, Nibela, Kwankosi Khumalo, Kwakhetha, Mpembeni, Ntunjambili, Denny Dalton and the Mfekayo districts during the hard lockdown in 2020. The sites are still not operational.
According to the DA, the department paid for PPE equipment and compliance officers despite knowing that they would not be used because of the level 5 restrictions.
Chonco told TimesLIVE that he was aware of the allegations by the DA, but wouldn't comment until they officially opened a case.
“We are looking forward to them pressing those charges and bringing forward their facts. I won’t comment on hearsay. I can tell you, however, that the issue of those modular libraries is before the portfolio committee and Scopa,” he said.
According to the DA's statement, the issuing of the tenders took place during the country’s hard lockdown, “which restricted work”.
“As a result, the equipment paid for was left unused. The department of arts & culture also paid for the hiring of Covid-19 compliance officers, who also did not perform their duties.
“The issue here is that the [department] was aware of the lockdown yet continued to use taxpayers' money to pay for equipment and personnel despite the reality that it would not be used,” the statement said.
The party has submitted more than 40 copies of invoices — among other documents — allegedly from various companies to the department to back up their claims. The documents claim to show that construction equipment — TLBs, rollers and tipper trucks — were also paid for, something which the DA argues should not be covered by Covid-19 expenditure.
“Levelling of sites forms part of the building contract and does not relate to the pandemic in any way. The DA has established that, at the time, an amount of R640,000 was allegedly given to each contractor for PPE. Some of the documents stipulate delivery of TLBs for June 2020 — well after the hard lockdown began,” the statement reads.
The party wants the department to answer how the contractors who received PPE funding managed to be on site during lockdown level 5, if they were there at all.
“We expect Mr Chonco to confirm whether these amounts were in fact spent on PPE for contractors, who these contractors are and how their appointments were made. We also expect him to tell us who will be held accountable for the squandering of millions of rand while KZN’s artists, who were so hard-hit during the pandemic, did not get any help,” the party said.
“Law-enforcement agencies must now deal with the matter and bring those involved to book swiftly,” the party added.
However, Bishop Vusi Dube, the provincial legislature's arts and culture portfolio committee chair, said that documents at their disposal show no foul play by the department relating to the modular libraries, which were meant to be built in 2020.
“The matter is indeed with the portfolio committee. In fact, they will be reporting on the progress of that on March 18. The CFO adjudicates the financial side of things, not the HOD,” he said.
He said they had all the documents pertaining to the modular libraries before the committee, and everything was in order. He extended an invitation to the DA to bring forward their allegations so the committee can investigate further.
“As far as I know, every document is presented to the committee and in the documents we have there is not a cent that is not accounted for. However, if there are documents or information that the DA or anyone has that we don't then they should bring it forward to the portfolio committee.
“Right now we don't have anything written to us as the portfolio committee but should they write to us we will investigate the allegations,” he said.
TimesLIVE
No foul play in R5.1m KZN PPE tender, says province as DA prepares to lay charges
Image: 123RF/Oksana Smyshliaeva
While the DA prepares to open a criminal case over a R5.1m personal protective equipment tender, the KwaZulu-Natal arts and culture portfolio commission believes there was no foul play involved.
The DA said it would open the fraud and corruption charges against provincial arts and culture head Nontokozo Chonco at the Durban Central Police Station on Thursday.
The charges, as per a DA statement released on Monday, relates to tenders of up to R5.1m to procure PPE for eight modular libraries in KwaNzimakwe, Nibela, Kwankosi Khumalo, Kwakhetha, Mpembeni, Ntunjambili, Denny Dalton and the Mfekayo districts during the hard lockdown in 2020. The sites are still not operational.
According to the DA, the department paid for PPE equipment and compliance officers despite knowing that they would not be used because of the level 5 restrictions.
Chonco told TimesLIVE that he was aware of the allegations by the DA, but wouldn't comment until they officially opened a case.
“We are looking forward to them pressing those charges and bringing forward their facts. I won’t comment on hearsay. I can tell you, however, that the issue of those modular libraries is before the portfolio committee and Scopa,” he said.
According to the DA's statement, the issuing of the tenders took place during the country’s hard lockdown, “which restricted work”.
“As a result, the equipment paid for was left unused. The department of arts & culture also paid for the hiring of Covid-19 compliance officers, who also did not perform their duties.
“The issue here is that the [department] was aware of the lockdown yet continued to use taxpayers' money to pay for equipment and personnel despite the reality that it would not be used,” the statement said.
The party has submitted more than 40 copies of invoices — among other documents — allegedly from various companies to the department to back up their claims. The documents claim to show that construction equipment — TLBs, rollers and tipper trucks — were also paid for, something which the DA argues should not be covered by Covid-19 expenditure.
“Levelling of sites forms part of the building contract and does not relate to the pandemic in any way. The DA has established that, at the time, an amount of R640,000 was allegedly given to each contractor for PPE. Some of the documents stipulate delivery of TLBs for June 2020 — well after the hard lockdown began,” the statement reads.
The party wants the department to answer how the contractors who received PPE funding managed to be on site during lockdown level 5, if they were there at all.
“We expect Mr Chonco to confirm whether these amounts were in fact spent on PPE for contractors, who these contractors are and how their appointments were made. We also expect him to tell us who will be held accountable for the squandering of millions of rand while KZN’s artists, who were so hard-hit during the pandemic, did not get any help,” the party said.
“Law-enforcement agencies must now deal with the matter and bring those involved to book swiftly,” the party added.
However, Bishop Vusi Dube, the provincial legislature's arts and culture portfolio committee chair, said that documents at their disposal show no foul play by the department relating to the modular libraries, which were meant to be built in 2020.
“The matter is indeed with the portfolio committee. In fact, they will be reporting on the progress of that on March 18. The CFO adjudicates the financial side of things, not the HOD,” he said.
He said they had all the documents pertaining to the modular libraries before the committee, and everything was in order. He extended an invitation to the DA to bring forward their allegations so the committee can investigate further.
“As far as I know, every document is presented to the committee and in the documents we have there is not a cent that is not accounted for. However, if there are documents or information that the DA or anyone has that we don't then they should bring it forward to the portfolio committee.
“Right now we don't have anything written to us as the portfolio committee but should they write to us we will investigate the allegations,” he said.
TimesLIVE
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