Members of Parliament want more details on investigations into State Capture cases where a number officials are alleged to have been involved in the looting of State resources.
This was after the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises received a report from the content adviser of Parliament on investigations done at Transnet, Eskom, Denel and other State-Owned Entities.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo submitted his State Capture Report to President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2022.
Ramaphosa gave the report to Parliament with an action plan. Parliament was supposed to act against members who are implicated and they were referred to the Ethics Committee.
But the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been taking some of the cases to court.
The Hawks have also submitted their reports to the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises on the cases they were investigating.
But the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on Wednesday received a report on investigations into corruption at Eskom, Transnet and other SOEs during state capture.
Members of the African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom (EFF) said they want to see more investigations into these cases.
In the report, the content adviser said some of the cases have been referred to the NPA and the State has recovered billions of rands.
Parliament’s content adviser, Rodney Mnisi said the department has been working with agencies in government to investigate state cases.
“The department has been working with law enforcement agencies and other state organs to, among other things, pursue delinquency proceedings against former directors of SOEs implicated in state capture and ensure that civil and criminal proceedings are referred to relevant authorities for investigation, with a view to prosecuting where necessary,” said Mnisi.
ANC MP Nkosinathi Dlamini said it appeared there has not been progress in the investigations into the Transnet corruption case involving 1,064 locomotives. He claimed it was not the officials who were involved in the alleged corruption at Transnet, there were other people.
Anoj Singh, who is the former Transnet Chief Financial Officer of Transnet, is charged with 14 others in this case in court.
Democratic Alliance MP Mimmy Gondwe said she agreed with the Department of Public Service and Administration that there should be a database of officials who are facing disciplinary charges. This will prevent them from leaving their positions and joining other departments before their disciplinary cases have been concluded.
President Cyril Ramaphosa raised this issue a few months ago that there will be a database of officials charged with corruption, and this will ensure they don’t jump ship and join other departments before they go through the full disciplinary process.
Gondwe also said officials in SOEs must be subjected to lifestyle audits.
She said it was not clear how far Cabinet had got in developing guidelines to be applied when appointing board members to SOEs.
EFF MP Omphile Maotwe said they needed progress reports on overpayment to firms that got contracts at Eskom and there was an overpayment of R4 billion.
“We don’t seem to get progress on investigation into corruption on these entities. You will remember, chair and honourable members, there was an alleged overpayment of R4 billion, which according to the Minister, was paid to Stefanutti Stocks, ABB, Tubular Construction Projects and Tenova Mining. I want to understand, what happened to the R4 billion overpayment? With Stefanutti, there was dispute of work done at Kusile of R110 million. Is it not investigated?” Maotwe asked.
The committee was tasked to ensure it monitors cases arising out of the Zondo Commission and progress that has been made in those investigations.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics