Government departments under graft spotlight

And public finance watchdogs have also turned their focus on the Department of Correctional Services and the Justice Departments over the awarding of dubious contracts, writes E-Brief News. The Department of Home Affairs reacted with shock when told of the Cape Times investigation, which exposed corruption at the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office. An intern implicated in the corruption has been arrested and dismissed for allegedly soliciting a R700 bribe from a Zimbabwean after an undercover investigation on June 6. The operation was approved by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Home Affairs communications chief Jacky Mashapu said. Other investigations were under way involving senior officials at the same office, Mashapu said, and the outcome of these investigations would be made public. A Cape Times reporter spent two months investigating a scam by masquerading as a Zimbabwean named Prince Mhlanga who sought refugee status. He bought an ‘appointment slip’ – an item outlawed by a ruling in the Pretoria High Court in 2006 – for R150 and acquired a fake asylum seeker\'s permit for R800. Full Cape Times report

For R150, it’s possible to buy an appointment slip, a piece of paper bearing your name, address and country of origin and a stamp from the Department of Foreign Affairs, says the Cape Times report that exposed officials.A sum of R800 will get you an asylum seeker\'s permit without going through the mandatory interview to determine refugee status. Greasing the palms of corrupt officials will also save you queuing for the permit, a process which might take several days or months. The asylum application process is supposed to cost nothing. Mashapu said five officials were suspended earlier this year as a result of ‘anti-corruption interventions’. Mashapu said the department would not investigate allegations of corruption or illegal practices unless a complainant laid an official complaint with the department. Full Cape Times report

Correctional Services is also taking heat. The Auditor-General and Parliament\'s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) have both taken issue with the awarding of an extremely lucrative contract to run the Lindela Repatriation Centre near Krugersdorp to one of the Bosasa group of companies. The Lindela contract was awarded to Leading Prospect Trading, a fully owned Bosasa subsidiary. Themba Godi, Scopa chairperson, said his committee was ‘horrified’ by the Lindela contract, ‘which amounts to nothing more than a rip-off of the state’. The Lindela contract is one of many the department hopes to renegotiate. Bosasa has previously come under scrutiny in relation to its Correctional Services contracts. Gavin Watson, the CE of Bosasa, had a longstanding relationship with Linda Mti, the prisons commissioner at the time, although Mti has always denied any impropriety, says the Cape Argus. The Minister of Home Affairs, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, is also concerned to hear that her recently appointed communications adviser, Stephen Laufer, is also a Bosasa spokesperson. Mapisa-Nqakula said that Laufer had not indicated that he worked for Bosasa. The fact that he had commented on behalf of Bosasa on a matter relating to Lindela appeared to be a ‘serious conflict of interest and is totally unethical’. Godi said it was worrying that there were a number of instances across departments in which contracts had been negotiated in a manner that was ‘glaringly disadvantageous’ to the government. Full Cape Argus report

The costs to the department are detailed in a report in The Sunday Independent. From October 1 2004 to September 30 2005, the department paid the company R67.92 a person a day to detain prohibited persons. From October 1 2005, in terms of the new contract, that amount increased to R79.90, with a minimum threshold of 3 250 persons. The centre rarely reached this capacity, but the department had to pay regardless. By using the new formula, says The Sunday Independent, the effective cost per person per day increased significantly, exceeding R100 for all months and reaching a maximum of R251 in February 2006. It is estimated that R49m was wasted every year as a result. Full report in The Sunday Independent (subscription required)

In the case of the Justice Department, four officials allegedly awarded a tender to a company that was charging R23m more than the next bidder. The company apparently also had prior knowledge of the tender, according to a City Press report. It says an audit report in its possession shows how department officials flouted regulations and policies relating to the award of a tender for the transformation of the Justice College – the government’s premier training institution for judges, prosecutors and other officials whose work relates to the administration or implementation of the law. The report has been prepared for Justice director-general Menzi Simelane. It says the awarding of a tender to Mbisa Consortium for about R40m while another company, Pro-MTR, had offered to do the same job for R23m less, raised questions on the apparent ‘serious irregularities with regard to the award of the tender to Mbisa’. The officials who took the decision include a deputy director-general who also heads the college, Jacqui Ngeva, chief directors Elijah Tladi and Shuli Chikane and a director, Andrew Mokone. Department spokesperson Zolile Nqayi said: ‘We have cancelled the contract and taken disciplinary steps against (some of) the implicated officials. The matter has also been handed over to the police for a criminal investigation.’ Nqayi said only Tladi was suspended allegedly because ‘there was more compelling evidence against him’. Full City Press report