OPPOSITION parties have called for the head of North West public works MEC Mohlakeng Mohlakeng after he admitted that his department had been rocked by corruption involving R1,6billion allocated for infrastructure. The MEC has confirmed that his department, which also includes roads and transport, had spent R525million of the 2009-10 budget within the first three months on illegal contracts and tenders.
Yesterday ANC general secretary Gwede Mantashe blamed corruption in the province on divisions bedevilling the party in the province. A report by auditors Price Waterhouse Coopers is said to indicate that the department has already spent its R525million 2009-10 budget within three months. More than R1,5billion allocated for road capital projects for the next three years through the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) has already been committed.
Service providers have started taking government to court for nonpayment for work performed. Opposition parties in the province have been urging Mohlakeng to release the report in which he is allegedly implicated. The D A leader in the province, Chris Hattingh, said because of the “cadre protection system this will come to nothing”. “Money was spent on Mohlakeng’s house and a car for him and on his inauguration,” Hattingh said. Cope’s Nikiwe Num said Mohlakeng must be sacked .
In a statement issued by his department yesterday, Mohlakeng said “last minute legal advice” prevented him from releasing the report. “The legal advice was partly informed by the fact that a number of persons and entities have been identified by name and implicated and further investigations are yet to be made, before such (report) could be made public.” He described as “utter nonsense ” suggestions that he has delayed making the report public because he was implicated.
North West premier Maureen Modiselle has ordered investigations into other departments such as health and social development, education and agriculture.
Source: The Sowetan
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