Senior officials at a Pretoria college might face charges of financial misconduct and fraud following allegations that they have been spending college funds as they please.
This includes the awarding of contracts starting from R500 000 to three companies without even signing any contracts with them or going to tender.
Members of the public and parents of students at the Tshwane North College (TNC) will also not be pleased to learn that college funds have been spent on showering senior staff members with Christmas gifts and pampering them during overseas trips.
TNC is one of the biggest Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in Tshwane, with campuses in the CBD, Soshanguve, Mamelodi, Temba and Rosslyn, servicing students from all parts of the city.
An internal audit into the financial affairs of TNC has revealed how staff members in the college’s finance department are hopelessly unskilled in financial management and do not follow any financial procedures whatsoever.
According to the report, which was received by the college council only this week despite being completed in April, the chief financial officer has been negligent on many occasions when dealing with college funds and should repay all the money wasted.
This also includes authorising payments for overtime to staff who had manipulated the hours they were claiming, and this was allegedly done at inflated rates.
Between December 2011 and January this year alone, 10 staff members were irregularly paid nearly R45 000 from college funds for overtime they didn’t work, and the amounts were authorised without any relevant documentation submitted.
“It is recommended that all the overpayments that were made should be reimbursed to the college as soon as possible and those that signed for the transfers and payments to be charged with financial misconduct, negligence and fraud,” states the report.
The human resource formula tool for overtime payments was allegedly forged by the concerned officials.
This was in addition to college funds that were given to staff members during a trip to the Netherlands. Staff members were given about R11 000 each while the CEO and the CFO were given amounts of R27 000 each.
It is not clear what the trip to the Netherlands was for and how the amounts that were given to the individuals were determined and what they were given for.
The report recommended that all those involved in the allocation of the funds should be charged with financial misconduct and the differences paid back to the college or recovered from their salaries.
The audit also revealed that a college debit card was used for unknown expenditures by personnel who were not authorised to do so.
The report further revealed that in December last year funds were approved by finance management to buy Christmas presents for senior management and finance staff.
The report also raised concerns about how three consulting service providers were appointed without proper procedures being followed.
SBS, Phuthumani and Fixonate service providers apparently rendered services to the college without signing any contracts.
Council chairman Samuel Moleshiwa said the CFO had not been suspended as they were awaiting another report within the next 14 days to determine the way forward.
According to Moleshiwa, they are gravely concerned about what appears to be serious financial irregularities at the college, but said they would not be suspending the CFO as yet.
“The seriousness of these allegations necessitate that we conduct further investigation and these will be completed in the next 14 days.
“We believe we have taken proper care that no evidence can be suppressed during the investigation. One does have the expectation that college funds should not be used in the manner alleged and we will make a full determination about the way forward when the investigation is completed,” said Moleshiwa.
National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union official at the college, Zwitani Malema, said the report should pave the way for the college and the department to take serious action against those implicated. “We are aware of the report and we believe all those implicated should be suspended immediately while charges are being formulated against them. This is denting the image of the FET college sector.”
Pretoria News