JOHANNESBURG - The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) on Tuesday demanded a forensic investigation into alleged poor governance at the Magalies water board.
OUTA said it had written to water and sanitation minister Gugile Nkwinti to probe the board, which is responsible for providing bulk water to municipalities, mines and other industries in Gauteng, Limpopo and North West provinces, but has been plagued by allegations of financial mismanagement, poor governance and unfair appointments.
“We called on the minister to look into the appointment of Tsakane Radebe, who appears to be unsuitable for the position of general manager of the Magalies water project management unit and whose functions have been taken over by a contracting company called LMJ whilst she continues to serve in her role,” OUTA’s portfolio manager for water and environment Yamkela Ntola said.
“This leads us to question the motives behind her appointment”.
OUTA said it believed advocate Mosotho Petlane, who chairs the utility’s board, was at the centre of the crisis.
“Findings by the Auditor General on financial mismanagement and maladministration in 2016 and 2017 have been ignored by the board of Magalies Water, which undermines the AG’s report; over-payments to service providers; and the board ignored evidence of fraud in the entity’s procurement process,” said Ntola, adding that the minister should halt the appointment of financial consultants.