Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Helen Zille says the R22.8 million in irregular expenditure which the auditor-general’s office flagged in her department’s 2011/12 annual report is a fraction of what her DA government found in the “corrupt” dealings of former premier Ebrahim Rasool’s administration.
The R22.8m, from a 2007 contract, was part of a total package of R52.3m awarded to Hip Hop Media by the ANC provincial government between 2004 to 2009.
Zille was responding to a report in the Cape Argus on Tuesday, which stated that the auditor-general had only found out about the contract last year when problems with it were raised after the DA took office in 2009.
Asked why it took so long for the auditor-general to find out about the irregular spending, Zille’s spokesman, Zak Mbhele, accused the former ANC administration of keeping the information under wraps.
“The ANC administration managed to keep the Hip Hop contract under wraps and when the DA came to power in 2009, one of its first priorities was to strengthen the internal Forensic Investigation Unit (FIU) to identify corruption and other irregularities in the administration,” Mbhele said.
“The Hip Hop tender was then referred to the FIU that began its investigation in 2011 and duly reported the irregular expenditure which appeared in the financial statements of 2012.
“The irregularities had not been picked up at the time and were only found and uncovered by the DA administration, through the revamped FIU, at the DA administration’s insistence.”
Mbhele said disciplinary action had been taken against implicated officials.
“Some of these have been concluded already – one dismissal and several written warnings issued – and some are still in process at an advanced stage,” he said.
“The department is busy pursuing options for possible recovery of the money.”
Of the R22.8m communications tender awarded to Hip Hop Media, R3m comprised invoices that were not supported by the required quotations. Provincial government communications contracts worth R80m had been paid to three companies over four years during the Rasool administration.
The investigation into the media contracts revealed that former Cape Argus journalist Ashley Smith had been paid to write stories favourable to Rasool, creating the so-called “brown envelope” scandal.
Smith in turn alleged that one of his colleagues had also received money.
Smith, his former fiancée Joy van der Heyde, and former Cape Argus political editor Joseph Aranes had links with Hip Hop Media.
Rasool and his ANC colleagues have all denied irregularities in awarding the contracts as well as the illegal payments made to journalists.
Smith submitted his affidavit to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in July 2010. In exchange, he requested indemnity against any possible criminal charges.
His admission came five years after the allegations were first made to the Cape Argus by members of the Western Cape ANC – specifically that two Cape Argus staffers were secretly being paid to write news articles favourable to Rasool.
An internal disciplinary hearing hauled Smith up on charges, but he resigned before the newspaper’s investigation was complete.
On the available evidence, Aranes was stripped of his political editor position when the allegations first surfaced in 2005. He resigned in 2009.
In 2010, the provincial government handed a forensic report to the Commercial Crimes Unit to investigate the contracts. Zille said there has been no movement on the case from the police’s side since.
Questions were sent to Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko on Tuesday, but he had not replied at the time of going to print.
Responding to questions from the Cape Argus, Hip Hop Media’s former head Zain Orrie said: “Why don’t you ask Gasant Abarder [Cape Argus executive editor] or [Chris] Whitfield [Independent Newspapers Cape’s editor-in-chief]? They know better about Hip Hop. Don’t ask me.”
The Cape Argus was unable to get hold of Rasool, currently SA ambassador to the US.
Timeline
Paymenst to Hip Hop Media by the ANC provincial government amounted to R52 359 681.88:
* Department of the Premier – R23 847 913.20 between July 9, 2004, and July 23, 2009.
* Department of Transport and Public Works – R25 697 282.36; July 20, 2006, to May 11, 2009.
* Department of Community Safety – R2 532 545.24; December 29, 2005, to September 19, 2008.
* Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning – R264 738.48; March 30, 2007, to August 7, 2008.
* Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, R17 202,60; January 15, 2007, to February 9, 2007.
Cape Argus