FORENSIC auditors have found evidence that a R100-million tender to rent office space was manipulated to dupe the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
The labour dispute-resolution body is going to court this week to review a 10-year lease deal it signed for new premises in Cape Town.
The offices in a building called Fountain Place were supposed to be ready for occupation by commission staff more than eight months ago.
But an investigation and site visit by Sunday Times reporters in March found that the building was in a state of chaos. The lift was not working and there was a gaping hole in the façade of the building where the entrance should have been. The CCMA is yet to move in.
The commission called in auditors from Integrated Forensic Accounting Services to review its supply chain management process. The auditor's report, finalised last week, found that the tender process had been flawed and, as a result, the R100-million lease deal was awarded to the wrong bidder.
"I am devastated. We've had five years of clean audits," said commission director Nerine Kahn.
"All the evidence points to the fact that we have been misled and duped," she said.
Evidence uncovered so far suggests that at least one member of staff may have influenced the awarding of the tender.
"The individual was put on special leave and has been suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry," said Kahn.
Other staff could also face disciplinary action, she said.
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