Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says he and the National Treasury will respect whatever decision the courts make on the appropriateness of the department’s ill-fated integrated financial management system (IFMS) tender.
Replying to a question in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, Godongwana said that while the IFMS did not get off the ground, the National Treasury maintained, in ongoing court cases, that there was no corruption.
He was replying to a question from newly appointed MK Party chief whip Des van Rooyen, who asked what the National Treasury has done since the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Auditor-General found that over R400m in spending was “fraudulently incurred by the National Treasury through acts of corruption by National Treasury officials and Oracle”.
In his response, Godongwana maintained that the AG found no corruption in the IFMS tender. He reminded MPs that the National Treasury referred the SIU’s findings that an official colluded with Oracle to get the R822m tender confirmed to the North Gauteng high court in Pretoria.
“The parties to this application have filed their respective affidavits, and after heads of argument have been filed, the next step would be for the court to set a hearing date. Only a court of law may find a person guilty of fraud or corruption.”
I don’t think anybody says Treasury officials are above the law. If the National Treasury loses this matter in a court of law … and the court of law says those officials have a case to answer, they will definitely have to answer that case at the appropriate time.
— Enoch Godongwana, finance minister
He said no National Treasury officials, former officials or service providers have been charged with criminal conduct or found guilty over the matter.
He said after the National Treasury decided to review the report, engagements were initiated with Oracle to reassess the contractual and operational engagements of the IFMS contract.
“These discussions remain ongoing. The objective is to ensure that any future collaboration is underpinned by transparency, accountability and cost efficiency and is aligned with the government. No new long-term contractual commitments have been concluded to date.”
Van Rooyen said the minister’s response lacked any sign of determination to deal with fraud, adding that there are officials and politicians that are being defended and that the minister was protecting Oracle, “a foreign company that is dominating [South Africa’s] ICT space”.
“These allegations are very serious, minister. I think we should come out clear on your take on this serious allegation against a ministry that is holding the national purse.”
Godongwana maintained that no pronouncement was made by the Auditor-General, and officials had every right to protect their reputations by pointing out any corruption that they had detected.
Asked about the impact of the delay in delivering the IFMS, Godongwana replied that the IFMS tender sought to modernise financial management systems.
“It is important to note that the IFMS was intended to replace old-age financial management systems, such as Persal ... All of them in their present form, unless you do a patch and work, as we have done with Vulindlela, are insufficient and therefore pose a risk. So in the meantime, what Treasury has done is to improve operational efficiency.”
He said the National Treasury has tried to restart the programme with a modern approach and is looking to “plug the gap” in the meantime.
“There is something called the Digital Government South Africa, a platform which progressively introduces integrated financial management capability, supporting improved transparency, stronger controls and preparedness for future accrual alignment reporting.”
DA MP Kingsley Wakelin asked the minister how he would ensure the National Treasury maintains its reputation as a trusted custodian of public money. Godongwana admitted that the National Treasury was likely to take a knock in terms of its reputation due to the imbroglio.
“For as long as ... people are choosers of corruption, which we suspect we are not, we will always take a reputational [knock],” he said.
EFF MP Nthako Matiase asked if the National Treasury was above the law and if its officials were exempt from the levels of scrutiny that officials of other departments are subject to.
“I don’t think anybody says Treasury officials are above the law. If the National Treasury loses this matter in a court of law … and the court of law says those officials have a case to answer, they will definitely have to answer that case at the appropriate time.”
He said the courts remain best placed to determine if any corruption took place around the IFMS contract.
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