Two Gauteng officials suspended

Two officials in the Arts and Culture department have been suspended over irregularities in the leasing of a building in Diagonal Street, Johannesburg.

Gauteng MEC for Arts and Culture Lebogang Maile announced on Tuesday that it is alleged a service provider was appointed without following proper procurement processes for assisting the department with space planning and the moving of staff to the building.

A preliminary investigation carried out by the head of the department, Busi Maki, found irregularities regarding the process followed in appointing the service provider.

Maile, who refused to divulge information about the amount of money involved and what it was used for, said he would announce the findings of investigation as soon as it was concluded.

“We are conducting a fully fledged investigation into the process,” Maile said in a statement to the media.

“No tender processes were followed and we are trying to establish if there is money paid and how much was paid. At this moment we cannot say how much was used and where, as the investigation is still ongoing and we don’t want to compromise the process,” he added.

The service provider’s contract has since been terminated.

Maile distanced himself from questions around the possibility that there may be more people involved in the alleged irregularities.

“The Department of Infrastructure will conduct its own forensic investigations to ascertain if there are officials in that department who may have acted with malice,” Maile said.

Maile said that once the investigation is concluded, suspended officials will be given an opportunity to appeal. – IOL