DA in KZN hands 'proof of corruption' to Special Investigating Unit

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has approached the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe fraud, corruption and jobs for pals' allegations in the economic development, tourism and environmental affairs (EDTEA) department. 

DA leader Francois Rodgers on Tuesday said several whistle-blowers in the department have revealed that some entities are barely functioning as a result of money being siphoned off by high-ranking senior officials for their personal use.

The allegations, supported by documents handed to the DA, according to Rodgers, include:

•  Millions of rand being siphoned from departmental programmes and spent on personal luxury items and entertainment;
•  Funding — supposedly for billboards in the province — being spent on expensive gifts, paid for in cash; and
•  Funding being moved from programmes to cover the R28m SA Music Awards and runaway expenditure on the event in defiance of the National Treasury’s cost-cutting instruction.

The whistle-blowers' documents include a request that the appointment of several senior officials in the department be probed. This as a result of their close ties with the MEC and, in some cases, without due process being followed. There is also a request that the department’s Operation Vula fund be probed for possible extortion.

The DA says the claims of fraud and corruption extend to Tourism KZN (TKZN) with allegations that the acting CEO was suspended to make way for others to continue siphoning funds from the entity. The situation is allegedly aggravated by the ongoing failure to fill senior management posts, which has led to SCM not being adhered to.

The entity is also supposedly the scene of questionable appointments and mistreatment and victimisation of staff. The TKZN board also comes under fire for its alleged use of agencies to pay for entertainment and siphon money from the entity.

“While the DA acknowledges that the information received is based on allegations, the contents are staggering and warrant intense scrutiny by the SIU,” said Rodgers. “Regrettably, history has shown how the ANC government rechannels money for service delivery into its election campaigns, in the case of KZN’s EDTEA department, this must now be ruled out by way of an independent investigation,” said Rodgers.