Cape Town - Cape Congress Party Councillor Fadiel Adams is taking the City to task over the findings of the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) investigation into the irregular spending of R53 million on the Strandfontein site which housed homeless people during the hard Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
The investigation, which looked at the procurement process followed by the City in respect of the award of the contract to a Cape Town company in relation to the supply of tents and toilets, among other things, and the conduct of officials concerned, was concluded last year.
The SIU released its final report on Covid-19 procurement contracts across all spheres of government in January 2022, and President Cyril Ramaphosa made it public on January 25, but the City says it has not yet received the report and therefore cannot comment on it.
In a statement on Wednesday, the City said it had recently requested the information from the SIU.
Yesterday SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said: “The SIU finalised its instructions to the Office of the State Attorney and subsequently counsel was appointed. At this point the SIU is in consultation with counsel.”
In March last year, SIU head, advocate Andy Mothibi, briefed Parliament’s portfolio committee on co-operative governance and traditional affairs about the report.
Mothibi told Parliament the investigation revealed that the supply chain management process followed by the City in sourcing the various items and services required was irregular and as such should be set aside.
The SIU investigation was initiated after Good party secretary-general Brett Herron, then an MPL, forwarded a complaint against the City to the SIU on August 20, 2020. The alleged irregularities comprised the irregular award of contracts to the value of R52.8 million.
In an email to City officials last week Adams posed questions about the report and wanted to know if the City had made any moves to reclaim its money.
He said the City had been fleeced and wanted to know if the implicated officials would be investigated and what disciplinary action they would face.
On Wednesday, Adams said: “That money should have been claimed long ago. We demand a forensic report into all of this and we urge the mayor to make good on his promise to always act in the interests of the people of Cape Town.”
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za