HARARE - SekelaXabiso, a leading black-owned professional firm specialising in internal auditing, has recommended that the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) board review all contracts in a bid to determine compliance with its procedures and its exposure to possible litigation, irregular expenditure or conduct.
Advocate Boyce Mkhize advised that the MQA board should consider an independent forensic audit to investigate the source of bogus e-mails that had cast aspersions on the authority.
He said this would help in dealing with reputational damage already caused to it.
The recommendations come in the wake of claims of procurement irregularities, sexual harassment, improper recruitment, flouting of governance, bribery and fraud against the authority, which is responsible for the administration of skills development programmes in the mining and minerals sector.
The MQA approached SekelaXabiso last November to investigate.
Among allegations SekelaXabiso investigated were claims that chief financial officer Mfundo Mdingi contracted a forensic investigation, authorised and paid R5 million and never presented a report to the board.
It was alleged that R12m was paid to Generational Training and Development, a service provider which was not an approved nor registered.
Mkhize found the allegation that R5m for a forensic report was without basis. He said the firm was in fact paid R495 000 and not R5m.
Mkhize also found that the audit committee paid R6.9m to Sema, forensic service provider without following policy procedure, and the contract constituted “irregular expenditure.”
Mkhize noted that VAT had been overstated in terms of the contract, in that at 14 percent of the total amount to be charged it should have been R1.90m and not R2.099m.
It was found that Mdingi had been fairly recruited.
Mkhize cleared acting chief executive Tebogo Mmotla of sexual harassment, saying there was no evidence to support the allegation.
He also dismissed claims of alleged collusive relationship between Mmotla and acting chairperson Mthokozisi Zondi.
Mkhize said that there was also no evidence that bribes were solicited.