'King Herod of ANC creche'

Western Cape transport and public works MEC Robin Carlisle has launched an extraordinary attack on the province's new ANC chairman, Marius Fransman, accusing him of presiding over a departmental rot that led to more than R500-million being paid irregularly to consultants and of facilitating bribes to journalists.

Carlisle made his claims yesterday in the provincial legislature during a debate on Premier Helen Zille's state of the province speech.

Carlisle described Fransman - elected chairman of the ANC in Western Cape two weeks ago - of "political gutlessness" and divisiveness, and of being a leader "without conviction".

"Luthuli House [ANC headquarters, in Johannesburg], for all its desperation to elect to Western Cape a puppet on a string, has instead elected King Herod and put him in charge of the local creche," Carlisle said.

An investigation by the provincial treasury into the awarding of contracts and tenders worth R500-million during Fransman's tenure as transport and public works MEC had revealed that many contracts had been irregularly, improperly and unlawfully awarded, Carlisle said.

"The plundering of the department of transport and public works portfolio, of which Fransman was minister for almost four years, was on a massive scale. Treasury investigated over R500-million of consultancy, much of it highly irregular," he said.

But Fransman dismissed the claims as "rubbish" and cheap politicking. He said the DA was trying to distract attention from its own flaws in the province and from the fact that Carlisle's department was beefing up public transport in affluent areas at the expense of poorer areas.

Carlisle told the legislature that the Auditor-General had found that 18 consultancies and companies procured by Fransman's department received R197-million during the 2008/09 financial year, an increase of 81% on the year before.

A closer look at these contracts revealed supply-chain management irregularities such as the awarding of contracts without specifying a maximum value, failing to conduct formal needs assessments and the value of contracts being exceeded.

Carlisle said he was forced to shut down a ticketing and tracking systems unit installed under Fransman at a cost of R60-million to the department as it was not being functionally used.

Fransman's department had spent another R60-million to train 1500 people in technical skills, but the programme turned out chaotic.

Carlisle said the transport department had paid controversial publicity firm Hip Hop media R26-million, which included "dodgy transactions" such as R4.1-million for a function for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, despite there being no proof of such an event having taken place.

Hip Hop allegedly received R1.3-million for a 'tik off" campaign that Carlisle had not been able to trace.

He said he had evidence of Fransman's alleged payment of bribes to journalists to write favourable stories. A partner in an events company had alleged the ANC administration, of which Fransman was part, had unsuccessfully tried to get him to facilitate bribes to journalists. Fransman has previously denied the bribery claims.

He told The Times yesterday that Carlisle was using state resources to settle political scores.

"He is wrong to use wrong information in a politically expedient manner.

"It is wrong to use information in a devious way and to give wrong information to the public and to use to state resources to try and reach a political objective, especially when it comes to technical issues," he said.

"I am happy because when the DA speaks badly about you it means this is the right leadership. The moment your enemy is fighting, you know you are on the right track," Fransman said.