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The National Prosecuting Authority is yet to decide whether to criminally charge three former public works directors-general who are alleged to have unlawfully appointed contractors and consultants at Nkandla.
Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said in Parliament this week the decision to prosecute rested with the country’s prosecutions body.
The three are Solly Malebye, Sam Vukela and Siviwe Dongwana.
Malebye was public works chief operating officer (COO) from April 2008 to April 2009 and acting director-general from April 2009 to November 2009. He went back to his post as COO until he resigned in March 2010.
As acting director-general, Malebye approved the appointments of four consultants, including Minenhle Makhanya Architects, the company that oversaw the project and was paid R16.5 million. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is now suing Makhanya for R155 million for the overexpenditure at Nkandla.
Malebye is alleged to have given the go-ahead to the KwaZulu-Natal bid-adjudication committee to award contracts worth more than R20 million without going out to tender.
The SIU wants Malebye criminally charged for financial misconduct and failure by an accounting officer to comply with section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act.
According to the SIU, Malebye was “grossly negligent” when he delegated signing powers to the regional bid-adjudication committee and did not follow any legal process. Malebye also faces allegations of failing to maintain a procurement system that is “fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective”.
Malebye told SIU investigators he did not believe he had acted improperly.
Sam Vukela
Vukela was public works acting director-general from October 2009 to June 2010, and again from December 2010 to September 2011.
According to the SIU report, Vukela, as accounting officer for the department, also reconfirmed the approval by his predecessor, Malebye, to delegate powers to the KwaZulu-Natal regional bid-adjudication committee to award contracts valued at more than R20 million without going out to tender.
He is also accused of having approved the appointment, without tender, of close corporation E Magubane, one of the consultants appointed to undertake landscaping at Nkandla.
But according to the SIU, Vukela could not recall approving the appointment of the company and approving the final scope of landscaping works that cost a staggering R16 million.
Like Malebye, Vukela told SIU investigators he relied on line managers and other heads of department and conceded he did not question or check information given to him for approval because he did not suspect any “inaccuracies”.
The SIU also wants Vukela to be charged with failure by an accounting officer to comply with section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act.
Siviwe Dongwana
Dongwana was public works director-general from July 2010 to November 2010. During his short stint he is said to have approved the appointment of two contractors without going out to tender and was apparently “present at meetings when these contractors were discussed and the decision was taken that they should be appointed”.
According to the SIU, Dongwana did not cooperate with the SIU probe, as he did not respond to the allegations put to him.
The SIU also wants Dongwana to be charged with failure as an accounting officer to comply with section 38 of the Public Finance Management Act
