A Mpumalanga forensic investigator found out that procurement procedures may have been flouted in the awarding of an RDP housing tender worth R32 million and exposed it.

Now he says he is being targeted, and is under pressure to retract his report.

Thulani Nkuna is a senior forensic investigator in the integrity management unit – which is located in Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane’s office.

His investigation report, dated August 29 2019, conflicted with a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report that resulted in Mpumalanga human settlement’s housing inspector, Sandile Ngwenya, being dismissed in 2016 for certifying the structures of 20 houses that were allegedly not built.

The integrity management unit found these houses, exonerated Ngwenya and exposed deeper rot in the department that was not covered by the SIU.

The tender for the RDP houses in Nsikazi Trust near Mbombela was awarded to JV Mdluli Construction in 2007.

This company, the integrity management unit found, was appointed without a competitive bidding process to supplant Mthunzimuhle Construction, which had failed to finish the project.

No advertisement was placed to allow an open bidding process.

According to documents City Press has seen, JV Mdluli Construction was appointed, did the job and was paid without the signing of a contract with the department.

Now pressure is mounting to have the integrity management unit’s report withdrawn, allegedly because it pointed fingers at the department’s supply chain officials for flouting procedures in awarding the tender and at labour relations officials for punishing an innocent man.

Human settlements’ head of department and acting provincial director-general Kebone Masange and integrity management unit head Welcome Nkuna appeared before the Select Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and said that the integrity management unit report would be withdrawn because it was done by a “junior official” who did not follow procedures and made mistakes.

Economic Freedom Fighters provincial leader Collen Sedibe, who broached this matter at Scopa, confirmed that Masange and Nkuna spoke with one voice.

“They’re trying to target the investigator, but we have proof that he has done many reports that have led to the dismissal of senior officials in various departments. If he’s junior why have those reports not been withdrawn?” Sedibe said.

“The acting director-general [Masange] is conflicted on this matter because he’s human settlements head of department. He should not be involved and stay away,” he added.

Scopa chairperson, James Skhosana, declined to comment, saying: “The MEC [Norah Mahlangu] and head of department can answer your questions.”

Thulani Nkuna declined to comment because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

City Press understands that the department, integrity management unit, SIU and National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union representatives went on site about two weeks ago in an attempt to clear up and reconcile issues in the two conflicting reports.

The SIU report

The SIU recommended in a preliminary investigation on March 12 2015 that Ngwenya be charged for misconduct.

“In our respective view,” reads an SIU letter to the department, “the evidence that we have gathered suggests that Ngwenya may have committed misconduct in respect of the certification of top structures, in that he certified that the relevant top structure had been completed in compliance with the approved plans and specifications. His certification in 11 instances resulted in the Mpumalanga department of human settlements paying JV Mdluli Construction an amount of R458 152.44 in respect of top structures that had not been completed.”

The department subsequently charged and fired Ngwenya based on the SIU’s recommendation and City Press understands that a lawsuit has been launched against JV Mdluli Construction to recover the money.

Although the SIU’s investigation appears not to have focused on whether procurement procedures were followed, it sniffed out civil servants who benefited from RDP houses and 476 acknowledgement-of-debt agreements worth R5.1 million were signed with them to reimburse the government.

Provincial probe

The integrity management unit decided to investigate after a whistleblower lodged a complaint about the company’s irregular appointment.

Although JV Mdluli Construction was irregularly appointed, the integrity management unit found that the contractor completed the work satisfactorily.

The integrity management unit claimed that it found the 20 houses that were allegedly not built.

“The Special Investigations Unit investigation report that led to the dismissal of Mr Sandile Ngwenya was improper. The investigations were not thoroughly conducted by the Special Investigations Unit and the evidence thereof misled the department,” the integrity management unit found.

It also found that City of Mbombela councillors committed fraud by allocating houses to people who were not on the beneficiaries’ list.

“The Labour Relations Unit misled the department by recommending that houses be allocated to the witnesses who participated during the disciplinary hearing of Mr Sandile Ngwenya. This [caused] the department to suffer an expenditure of [R2.1 million].”

A key discovery in the integrity management unit’s report was that some of the witnesses were not among the listed beneficiaries on JV Mdluli’s status report, but their affidavits were still used to discipline Ngwenya.

Some of these beneficiaries disputed the contents of their affidavits when the integrity management unit interviewed them.

According to highly placed sources, the integrity management unit’s recommendations were why Masange and Welcome Nkuna had turned against the forensic investigator, despite his good record of performance over the past four years.

Thulani Nkuna’s report recommended that human settlements supply chain management director Thabo Mashile should be charged for flouting procurement processes, the Public Finance Management Act and National Treasury regulations.

It also recommended that Masange take necessary steps against labour relations officials for recommending that houses be built for witnesses at a cost of R2 million.

“There are people being protected here, hence the investigator is now being targeted. Why are they ignoring the facts about how JV Mdluli Construction was irregularly appointed?” said a source.

Premier Mtshweni-Tsipane’s spokesperson, Sibongile Mkani-Mpolweni, said that Thulani Nkuna had no mandate to commission and sign off the report.

“Any review of the Special Investigations Unit report had to follow government protocols and ultimately the court. [Thulani Nkuna] acted outside his scope of work without authorisation. The integrity management unit report and its recommendations is invalid as it was flawed from the beginning,” Mkani-Mpolweni said.

Masange, she said, would apply his mind to determine if there were reasonable grounds to charge any official for putting the office of the premier and provincial government into disrepute.