Johannesburg - Public protector Thuli Madonsela lauded the Mpumalanga provincial government yesterday for accepting her findings on the irregular awarding of shop leases in Pilgrim’s Rest and for submitting a remedy plan.
The provincial Department of Public Works wrote to Madonsela, accepting her findings and presenting remedial action, after her investigation into allegations of maladministration in the awarding of tenders for shop leases in the picturesque former mining town.
Remedial action included cancelling the awarding of earlier contracts and embarking on a new procurement process. Madonsela hailed the department as a shining example of how organs of state ought to deal with the probe reports of oversight agencies such as her office. She said where parties disagreed with her findings they should engage her.
In the event that disagreements persisted, parties should follow a legitimate process to have her findings and remedial action reviewed.
Madonsela said: “The constitution is unambiguous that the public protector has powers to investigate and report appropriate remedial action. It also states that the public protector is subject only to the constitution and the law. This means the courts are the only legitimate review bodies of my decisions, not legal opinions or name-calling.”
On Tuesday, a group calling itself the Hlaudi Motsoeneng Coalition called for her resignation. It was responding to the report on the SABC by Madonsela’s office. She had criticised acting chief operations officer Motsoeneng and the public broadcaster over his irregular appointment.
“We will be marching to her office, this is her year to vacate,” said Thami Mzileni of the Communication Workers Union.
Last year
Madonsela investigated allegations of maladministration by the department in the awarding of the tenders in Pilgrim’s Rest, a heritage site and tourist attraction, of which the department is the custodian.
Allegations included illegal awarding of tenders based on colour, improper issuing of eviction notices, and lack of responsiveness by the department to representations that were made prior to the issuing of eviction notices and threats of forced evictions.
Businesses rent the buildings in Pilgrim’s Rest from the government from as little as R1 700 a month and the department is responsible for the upkeep of the town, buildings and the provision of basic services.
Madonsela found “the process was characterised by gross irregularities and maladministration”.
In a report titled Poisoned Processes, Madonsela directed the head of the department to embark on a new procurement process for the conclusion of lease contracts for buildings at Pilgrim’s Rest that were without valid lease agreements.
Other irregularities she found included a high score on rent price for a bid that was one of the lowest and due diligence not having been carried out to assess functionality and sustainability of businesses considered for leases, among others.