Solely 24% of 248 Gauteng faculties acquired their share of the R106 million dignity packs venture, which an investigation has discovered to have been riddled with alleged fraud, corruption and different felony acts.
The programme, which ran throughout the 2016-17 and 2017-18 monetary years, was meant to offer sanitary towels and different merchandise to “indigent women and girls who’ve reached puberty, commenced menstruation and who attend [no-fee-paying] faculties, [and] state-owned schools and universities”.
It was additionally presupposed to have offered youngsters and younger adults residing with albinism with care packages that included sunscreen and hats.
That is the newest discovery within the Mail & Guardian’s collection of the allegedly hid forensic experiences that Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi insists have been made publicly out there, though no document exists on any provincial web site.
The dignity packs report — which is dated September 2020 and which the M&G has seen — particulars how officers within the provincial social growth division “devised a scheme to bypass … procurement processes to unlawfully and wilfully enrich [themselves and] sure suppliers to the detriment of … the general public”.
The investigation was performed by regulation agency Bowman Gilfillan and signed by its govt for investigations, Joe da Silva.
Three sources within the Gauteng authorities with intimate data of the investigation mentioned the premier was conscious of the report, which was handed to his predecessor, David Makhura, however neither of them had acted on it.
“This was an essential venture as a result of too many women wrestle to purchase sanitary towels and miss out on college when their cycle comes due to an absence of funds,” mentioned one insider, who requested to stay nameless. “We will’t say we’re for the upliftment of black youngsters however look away when progressive initiatives that can make their lives simpler are looted.”
In accordance with a report by the Spar Worldwide retail group, about 30% of the nation’s schoolgirls miss classes “as a result of they’ll’t afford menstrual hygiene merchandise”, equating to seven million “women affected by interval poverty, hindering their training and future”.
One other supply concurred that it was essential for Lesufi to launch these experiences and act on the suggestions.
“These experiences won’t keep hidden endlessly. The premier is conscious of them and should resolve if he desires his legacy to be tainted by defending corrupt officers,” they mentioned.
Shoki Tshabalala — the previous head of the social growth division, who’s now the deputy director basic for the division within the presidency for girls, youth and individuals with disabilities — was implicated within the dignity pack report as being on the forefront of the alleged fraud for having “dedicated monetary misconduct”. Felony costs have been beneficial in opposition to her.
This was the second beneficial felony case in opposition to Tshabalala. The M&G reported on 18 October about one other advice that Tshabalala be charged for her function in a “corrupt” contract value greater than R273 million to disburse about 850 000 college uniforms, footwear, underwear and vests to Gauteng’s susceptible learners.
However Tshabalala stays employed by the state, as famous within the investigative report, which added that it had not spoken to her throughout the inquiry as a result of she had “not responded to an electronic mail request for an interview”.
“Nevertheless, this doesn’t change our findings, based mostly on the documentary proof made out there to us,” the report acknowledged.
This week, the M&G despatched inquiries to Lesufi’s workplace, the provincial social growth division, in addition to the division of ladies, youth and individuals with disabilities.
The premier’s spokesperson Sizwe Pamla mentioned Lesufi was an training govt council member on the time of the report, including that social growth acquired the experiences and have been working to implement the suggestions.
“The premier was briefed by the Gauteng Provincial Forensic Audit Unit on the report and knowledgeable that it was submitted to the Directorate for Precedence Crime Investigation (Hawks) to implement a number of the suggestions,” he mentioned, with out giving timelines and progress particulars.
Motsamai Motlhaolwa, the social growth division spokesperson, mentioned the division would defer feedback to Lesufi.
Cassius Selala, spokesperson for the presidency, had not responded on the time of going print, regardless of repeated requests.
A “sham” of an analysis course of to nominate the six nonprofit organisations (NPOs) — Godisang Improvement, Kumaka Early Improvement, Morithi wa Sechaba, Siyabonga Africa Improvement, Tshepo-Themba Improvement and Fountains of Life — was unearthed by investigators.
The minutes hooked up to the report confirmed how “factually incorrect” data — equivalent to claiming that Fountains of Life had serviced the division earlier than, and the opposite NPOs submitting their paperwork after they have been awarded service degree agreements — was used to realize “a predetermined final result”.
“The method was clearly designed to profit sure individuals and organisations to the detriment of the [department] and the general public at giant,” investigators asserted, including that the federal government officers’ actions “might represent fraud and/or corruption”.
Worryingly, the report acknowledged that every one the NPOs, apart from Kumaka and Godisang, “rendered no companies with regard to the dignity packs programme, and have been mere ‘conduits’ or ‘paying websites’”. Which means the 4 organisations have been used to filter cash to designated service suppliers that would offer the merchandise with out present process an open tender course of, which is a part of supply-chain administration circumvention and flouts the Public Finance Administration Act.
Conduit funds, the M&G reported in June, have been how listed firm Life Healthcare allegedly milked R112 million from the provincial authorities in supplying drug rehabilitation centres after being appointed in a course of additionally discovered to have been corrupt by an unbiased forensic investigation.
That inquiry into Life Healthcare acknowledged it was “irregular for a authorities subsidy meant for the NPOs to be channelled to a non-public firm”, as was the case on this venture.
Within the case of this venture, the dignity packs venture, the tip outcome was that solely about 60, or 24.04%, of the 248 faculties acquired their packs throughout the 2016-17 and 2017-18 monetary years, with the remaining cash allegedly saved by the appointed NPOs, a few of which funded the lavish existence of departmental officers and their households.
For instance, Kumaka acquired greater than R52.7 million from the social growth division in each reporting durations, however “solely 19% of this quantity associated to the dignity packs programme”.
“We tried to do a reconciliation of the financial institution assertion of Kumaka to find out how the monies have been utilised. This train was unattainable as Kumaka didn’t maintain the funds, acquired for numerous initiatives, separated, as requested,” investigators wrote. “All funds have been paid into one checking account.”
Regardless of not responding to the M&G’s questions this week, Lesufi has publicly acknowledged the significance of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the province.
In July, the premier apologised to NGOs for freezing funds whereas Gauteng investigated alleged corruption within the allocation of R1.9 billion from the social growth division’s R5.5 billion finances for the 2024-25 monetary yr.
“Sadly, there have been critical missteps, and we have to rectify this. Our NGOs are doing invaluable work on behalf of [the] authorities, and so they should be handled with the utmost respect,” Lesufi mentioned on the time.
However in August, the province reinstated 13 officers named in forensic experiences, together with social growth deputy director basic Onkemetse Kabasia and Mbali Ndlovu, the deputy director of sustainable livelihoods, who have been each named within the dignity packs investigation.
Felony costs have been beneficial in opposition to Ndlovu for contravening the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Actions Act and for “cash laundering amounting to R106 000 003.80 … for being [an accomplice] to the fraudulent scheme to bypass the [department’s] procurement processes”.
Nobody was charged or disciplined for the alleged crimes.