LEGAL ACTION TO FOLLOW FRANSMAN'S FLIGHT FROM SCOPA
Today SCOPA (Standing Committee on Public Accounts) resolved to take legal action against Marius Fransman, Pierre Uys and Thami Manyathi for their failure to give testimony under oath before Scopa.
Both Mr Fransman and Mr Uys were present but refused to take the stand while Mr Manyathi failed to appear.
The SCOPA meeting arose from the Auditor General's investigation into 31 contracts and more specifically 20 of them which were initiated in the Department of Transport and Public Works.
At an earlier meeting of SCOPA on 20 February 2014 the current MECs and Heads Of Department (HOD) of the Department of Transport and Public Works and the Department of Health were interrogated by SCOPA on this matter, where it became apparent that all of the Department of Transport and Public Works contracts had been entered into between 2005 and 2009, when the ANC was in power.
As a result of these findings, SCOPA resolved to invite the ministers who were in office during that period (2005 - 2009) to appear before them. All failed to appear.
SCOPA therefore resolved to summons the individuals concerned to appear before a formal hearing of the committee in the Chamber. The summonses were duly and timeously served by the sheriff.
All of the 20 contracts initiated by the ANC in government between 2005 and 2009 were found to have been procured irregularly to a greater or lesser degree by the Auditor General.
The AG's report unequivocally showed that under ANC-rule, contracts in the above departments were being mismanaged, leaving the door for corruption wide open. Specifically:
There was no policy on the use of consultants;
A large proportion of contracts were awarded on limited bidding processes, where competitive bids were not invited;
Officials sometimes did not declare conflicts of interest;
Contracts were put in place that had no cost limit or expiry date; and
Work at the above departments was being outsourced to contractors at a high cost to taxpayers when it could have and should have been performed internally.
Certain of these contracts were especially problematic, including the Hip Hop, Brand Talk and Games Transportation System Services on which some R400m was spent. Massive amounts were also spent on events and activities falling outside the mandate of the Transport and Public Works department. This includes a prayer meeting of more than R600 000 of which there is no record of it ever taking place
The interrogation of Mr Fransman and Mr Manyathi would have included these allegations. The Auditor General found that in certain of the spending, Mr Fransman had personally instructed the expenditure on these projects.
These irregularities and expenditures would have been included in the interrogations under oath, especially of Mr Fransman and Mr Manyathi.
Their refusal to testify does not come as a surprise. We are aware that MEC Carlisle has invited Mr Fransman on many occasions to address these matters and more specifically to submit himself to a family lifestyle audit which he has always refused to do.
Thus, if Mr Fransman had this morning testified under oath it would almost certainly have spelt the end of his political career and the start of criminal proceedings.
This was the ideal opportunity for Mr Fransman and Mr Uys to explain the mismanagement of public funds in their departments when they were MECs. The fact that they chose not to take it reveals, once again, that they believe themselves to be above the law, and above being accountable to the citizens of this province.
SCOPA will now arrange for the laying of charges in terms of the Witnesses Act and they will be summoned again to appear before SCOPA.
Statement issued by Mark Wiley, Bokkie Geyer and Cathleen Labuschagne, DA Western Cape parliament SCOPA contingent, April 23 2014
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
