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Water and Sanitation Portfolio Committee member, Sipho Mahlangu, recently questioned the Department of Water and Sanitation and Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) about allowing Mhlanga-Ndlovu to flout Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury Regulations to appoint a law firm.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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A water resources management board will finally have to account to parliament for ignoring complaints about the citizenship status of an executive and giving a go-ahead to an investigation despite glaring irregularities in the appointment of a law firm.

Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) board chairperson, Linda Zulu, has promised to submit a written response to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation.

Zulu and the then IUCMA acting CEO, Dr Nicollete Mhlanga-Ndlovu, have declined to respond to The People’s Eye questions since May 13, which were raised after the National Health, Education & Allied Workers Union and insiders alleged that:

·      The board seemed to favour Mhlanga-Ndlovu when they extended her term as acting CEO from six to nine months;

·      Mhlanga-Ndlovu unilaterally appointed a law firm for about R3 million to conduct a forensic investigation without following tender procedures, and without prima facie evidence and consideration of the agency’s dire financial situation, which is stands on a R17million deficit;

·       Mhlanga-Ndlovu is a Kingdom of Eswatini national and has never produced any identity document for her file at human resources but a passport; and

·      A qualified South African was overlooked when she was appointed.

Portfolio Committee member, Sipho Mahlangu, recently questioned the Department of Water and Sanitation and IUCMA about allowing Mhlanga-Ndlovu to flout Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury Regulations to appoint the law firm.

“They cry about shortage of money but here they institute a costly investigation. Why did they not use the auditor-general  or the department?” Mahlangu said.

“We also need clarity about the appointment of the same person in the agency. This person is not a South African. Which scarce skill we were looking for? Were her qualifications vetted?” he added.

Mahlangu also said that Mhlanga-Ndlovu did not have the requisite experience as she had been working as an environmental consultant in her birth country. “Is she still not consulting in her country while being employed here?”

Water and Sanitation deputy minister, David Mahlobo, said that he was expecting the IUCMA board to give answers to the department.

Zulu said that the IUCMA took allegations of corruption and maladministration very seriously. She confirmed that there was an on-going investigation at the IUCMA.

“I would like to concur with the deputy minister and furnish this committee with a written response,” Zulu said.

An insider at the IUCMA described the investigation as a “wild goose chase” and labelled the board as being “rogue.”

“You want to investigate corruption but you commit it yourself because the tender process of appointing a service provider is not subjected to competition of any kind,” the insider said.

Parliament has been slamming the preference of foreign nationals over suitably qualified locals.

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education sharply criticised the University of Free State (UFS) in March after finding out that it employed 141 foreign academics and 26 foreign support staff.