DURBAN - THE public protector has found that the hiring of cars for official use by the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education, Kwazi Mshengu, was improper and a waste of public funds.
However, the report released by Public Protector (PP) Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Monday cleared Mshengu of any wrongdoing. The report was critical of the former head of department, Dr Enock Nzama, saying much of the information that led to the hiring of the cars was provided by Nzama or actioned on his request.
The Department of Education said Nzama had retired and was not well. It said he therefore could not respond to some of the public protector’s notices during the investigation.
The report found that there was no evidence that Mshengu had influenced the process for the hiring of the cars or violated the ethics code governing members of the provincial legislature.
The allegations date back to 2019, a few months after Mshengu took office.
Mkhwebane launched the investigation following a complaint by DA MPL and education spokesperson Dr Imran Keeka.
Keeka had lodged the complaint after a report in a national newspaper alleged that Mshengu had spent thousands of rand of public funds hiring vehicles for official use because he did not want to use the car that had been used by his predecessor, Mthandeni Dlungwane.
It alleged that officials reporting to him had concocted a scam, alleging that the car was unavailable and unroadworthy, and urged him to avoid using it.
In her report, the protector said the evidence obtained during the probe confirmed that the department had an official car (Mercedes-Benz) when the MEC took office at the end of May 2019, which he was obliged to use, in terms of the Ministerial Handbook and the Guide.
However, it said, he was advised by the HOD that the Mercedes-Benz was not drivable and that vehicles would be rented for him for official use.
“On the available evidence, the MEC had no reason to doubt the information provided to him by the HOD, who was ultimately, as the HOD and accounting officer of the department, responsible for ensuring that the MEC was provided with an official vehicle.
“In his own version provided during the investigation, the HOD did not personally take an interest to determine what the status of the vehicle was. He just approved the hiring of vehicles for the MEC at the expense of the department. It was only after a news article was published on November 10, 2019, that the HOD was provided with a technical report by Mercedes-Benz SA, indicating that the vehicle had a serious mechanical defect,” the report read.
The report said there was evidence that the Mercedes was available and drivable from May 30 to about November 11, 2019, when it was taken to
Mercedes for an assessment.
“Under the circumstances, the expenditure incurred for the hiring of vehicles for the MEC for official purposes from May 31 to November 10, 2019, could have been avoided had reasonable care been taken. The expenditure incurred in this regard can be regarded as fruitless and wasteful,” it read.
The report goes on to look at whether it was proper to purchase a new vehicle for official use by the MEC after the Mercedes Benz was decommissioned.
“The purchase of a new official vehicle for the MEC in December 2019 was not in accordance with the relevant laws regulating the procurement of official cars for members of the executive.
“The purchasing of a new vehicle for the official use of the MEC was therefore not justified,” the report added.
Mkhwebane’s report recommended that the KZN Treasury should ensure that the conduct of the department head was investigated.
Mshengu defended the former head yesterday. “It is my firm view that the HOD was a victim of a well-orchestrated plot by a former head of security for my predecessor and a cohort of scoundrels.
“To me the former HOD remains an honourable man who dedicated his entire life in making a valuable contribution to the education sector. I wish him a speedy recovery so that he can enjoy his retirement,” he said.
Mshengu said he had been maligned by the news reports.
“Notwithstanding the fact that I lack both the capacity and instinct to defraud the people, the matter has caused too much agony to my family. The degradation of dignity we suffered due to baseless allegations of corruption is well recorded. There is not even a cent that accrued to me through the usage of hired cars for official purposes,” said Mshengu.
Keeka, speaking on the findings, said: “We have long maintained that the Department of Education is a cauldron of corruption. The findings of this investigation give credence to this opinion. Of concern though, is the PP’s suggestion that the MEC was not responsible for this breach, as he was purely reliant on information given to him by his then head of department, Dr Nzama. This is both disingenuous and disappointing. The MEC had to have known that he was being driven around the province in a hired car.”
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala said he was still studying the report and would, in due course, communicate his responses and the way forward.
THE MERCURY