Media Statement For Immediate Release Tuesday, 4 June 2013 SCOPA Makes 18 Comments on the Preliminary Report of the Investigations of the R15m Spent on Legal Fees Today, 4 June 2013, the North West Provincial Legislature’s Standing Committee on Provincial Public Accounts (SCOPA) perused the Preliminary report from the Public Protector’s Office on the investigations for the over R15 million spent on legal fees by the Department of Finance and came up with more than 18 comments that the Public Protector’s Office still has to investigate or comment on. The Committee said it is happy with the preliminary report so far however there’s still work to be done. They raised issues of procurement process that were not properly followed, officials colluding to defraud the state and the relationship between senior officials in the department and the legal firm staff. SCOPA requested the Auditor General’s Office, the Public Service Commisioner, Provincial Public Protector’s office and the Hawks to do the investigation after former MEC for Finance, Loiusa Mabe, the current MEC, Paul Sebegoe, and the Acting Head of the Department of Finance, Geo Paul, failed to give the committee a clear account of procurement processes followed in appointing Morake Attorneys, a company that has been paid over R15 million for a disciplinary hearing of the Department of Finance head. Advocate Rauben Heimer, from the Public Protector’s Office requested the Committee not to make the contents of the report public until it is fanilised and all those involved have been given chance to see it and make inputs. The report will also include findings of the Auditor General’s Office and the Public Service Commissioner as they were also requested to investigate. The three were investigating the abuse of power and non compliance in the procurement processes. The Hawks are investigating fraud and corruption and they are also updating the Chairperson of the Committee, Hon. Hlomane Chauke on their progress. Hon. Chauke said the Committee the amount spent on this case exceeds the stated amount that is being investigated and therefore the Committee has requested the Public Protector’s Office to go deeper in its investigation. All stakeholders involved will make inputs to the report before 10 June 2013. For more information contact Namhla on 079 527 0628. Ends Issued by: North West Provincial Legislature: Media & Communications Unit nwpl.gov.za/public/uploads/documents/scopa_comments_on_legal_fees_04_Junew_2013.pdf
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 09:20:37 +0000