POLOKWANE – Serious irregularities uncovered by forensic investigators Bowman Gilfillan’s report caused an uproar among opposition parties during a closed meeting of the Polokwane municipal council last Tuesday.

During the hearing, councilors were required to surrender their mobile phones for safekeeping until the proceedings were over.

After the meeting, Mayor John Mpe briefed the media, revealing that the municipality had initiated forensic investigations in October 2023, prompted by the auditor general’s concerns and internal audits.

The three key areas investigated were the construction of the Mankweng Sports Complex, verification of employees and contractors, and an investigation into overtime paid to full-time employees and Extended Public Works Program (EPWP) employees.

Mankweng Sports Complex:

Mpe said the investigation into the Mankweng Sports Complex revealed significant irregularities and non-compliance with procurement procedures.

The project was initiated in 2014 with a budget of 69 million lei and escalated to 126 million lei and is still not completed.

“The main complex, including plumbing and electrical work, was found to be incomplete. The stadium building is in a state of disrepair, requiring extensive repairs and renovations. The bidding process for the project was marred by irregularities, including the approval of specifications and unauthorized increase in project costs,” Mpe said.

He added that Ditlou Engineering Consultants, appointed to oversee the project, turned out to be overpaid for their services. The main contractor, Phumi, and his subcontractors, Ebony and Ivory, are suspected of fronting, a practice in which one company is used as a front to hide the involvement of another party.

The stadium is also built on pieces of land that do not belong to the municipality, construction plans were not approved and completion certificates were signed by consultants instead of the municipal manager, the report said.

Verification of employees and contractors:

According to the report, the employee verification investigation revealed several discrepancies and irregularities, including the fact that the payroll system was found to contain fictitious employees, several employees were found to be on extended sick leave without proper documentation, some employees were found to hold more positions, such as both EPWP and permanent employment and human resources and legal services, were found to lack oversight, allowing employees to remain on the payroll for extended periods without being verified.

The report also indicated that a senior manager, who had been in his position for almost 10 years, used someone else’s personal information and matric certificate and diploma, and a certain employee who had been on leave for five years was discovered.

Overtime paid to employees:

The investigation into overtime payments revealed excessive claims, a lack of justification and potential abuse, Mpe said.

More than 128 million lei were paid in overtime over a 14-month period and 307 employees were found to have worked more than 60 overtime hours per month in violation of the law.

In addition, many employees were found to be unable to provide adequate justification for their overtime claims, and there were allegations that contractors were using materials from the municipality and then billing the municipality for the same materials.

Some employees were found to be working overtime during their annual and sick leave periods.

The mayor stressed that investigations are not an end in themselves.

“The City is committed to taking immediate action to address these issues and ensure accountability. We will work closely with law enforcement agencies and other relevant authorities to recover any losses and implement measures to prevent similar events in the future.

“Good governance and accountability are the cornerstones of our municipality and we will continue our efforts to provide quality services to our residents,” he concluded.

The public prosecutor’s whip in council, Jacques Joubert welcomed the publication of the Bowman Gilfillan reports.

“Until that date, we await a follow-up report to come back to council on Bowman’s previous report to council in April 2023 showing updates and action taken against officials. A forensic investigation is only as good as the action taken from it and the DA will continue to monitor the progress of these investigations and see that the full recommendations of the Bowman report are implemented as we believe the findings highlight the systematic, institutional degeneration of improper. corporate governance,” Joubert said.

Susan Clarke, Freedom Front Plus councilor in the municipality, said the report clearly indicates that directors and managers are not properly monitored and that the poorly managed human resources department has contributed greatly to the alarming state of municipal finances.

“Any outstanding investigations should also be disclosed, allowing the party to apply the necessary pressure for swift action,” Clarke said, adding that FF Plus would monitor disciplinary and criminal cases filed in this regard and maintain pressure accordingly that these processes drag on for too long and irregularities are often covered up.