GOVT’S COURT ACTION IN SICUNUSA -NHLANGANO ROAD MISCONDUCT

MBABANE – Government is in a bid to collect overwhelming evidence to pin down anyone who might have defrauded taxpayers during the construction of the Sicunusa-Nhlangano road.

It has been established that government’s objective is to prosecute people who will be found to have acted outside the ambit of the law. Auditor General (AG) Timothy Sipho Matsebula, said they wanted to gather evidence that would stand the test of time in a court of law. As a result, Matsebula said his office was in the process of appointing another service provider to clean up and collect the missing audit evidence to ensure it is acceptable in court. He said they would not give detailed information on the matter because they did not want the prospective service provider to feel threatened. Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg said the AG was in the possession of the report compiled by Lande Consulting from South Africa(sa).

comfortable

The minister said the AG was not comfortable with the depth of evidence in the report to be able to take action. He said he (AG) has decided to institute another process to get that needed evidence. The minister said both reports would be tabled in Parliament. Government hired Lande Consulting to conduct a forensic accounting or financial forensics to investigate whether anybody or any party engaged in financial reporting misconduct. It is an audit, advisory and forensics practice established to provide a wide range of sustainable solutions to the business sector. Lande has an office in East London in the Eastern Cape, where its partnership with the Specialist Investigation Litigation Case Management (SILC) (Pty) Ltd offers forensic expertise in the province and beyond to service mainly the public sector. Investigations by this newspaper further unearthed that Lande Consulting Incorporated and SILC are partners and affiliates in major forensic investigations.

It is said that the company has a diverse mix of skilled professionals, ranging from chartered accountants, tax specialists, information technology experts and forensic investigators.
Its professional services are streamlined along audit, independent reviews, tax, accounting, forensics and other related professional services. The company is understood to be well established as it has registered offices in Polokwane and its Johannesburg satellite office mainly drives information technology solutions to both private and public sector clients.

investigating

In April 2021, this newspaper reported that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was investigating allegations that a sum of E45 million was deposited to a former senior politician’s personal bank account. It is not clear if the forensic auditors discovered this alleged anomaly and what evidence they obtained to make a winning case for the prosecution. The project was beleaguered in controversies as Kukhanya Civil Engineering Contractors stopped building the road. At that time, government had spent E532.7 million. This amount excluded the over E100 million, which was paid to it for the termination of the contract. A new contractor, Inyatsi Construction, was engaged to continue with the project. In a previous interview with this publication, the minister of finance said government instructed the aG to conduct the forensics more than a year ago. The minister said the exercise was budgeted for and accordingly paid for, meaning that work was expected to have begun a very long time ago. Rijkenberg mentioned that the report was to be released soon.

AG Matsebula clarified that Lande Consulting was also engaged to investigate certain parts of the Manzini-Mbandlane highway. He said the Sicunusa-Nhlangano road covered its larger scope of duty. He said the initial plan was to release the report to the public. Matsebula pointed out that it was the wish of Parliament for the report to be made public. Asked how they conducted the forensic audit, the AG said they interviewed key people who had knowledge of the project or involved in the project and also sought documents to assist the auditors to get the truth about transactions. Further asked how the forensic audit was different from the AG’s general auditing, he explained that the financial forensics went beyond the routine audit exercise. He said such forensics obtained evidence that could be used in court against people and bodies which participated in financial misconduct.

On the other hand, he said the audit exercise that he conducted only raised a red flag. He said the people who were called to give clarity on certain issues cooperated with the investigators.
Meanwhile, in an audit report released by the country’s aG, concerns were raised that the contractor, Gabriel Couto/ Kukhanya Joint Venture suspended works. This resulted in the project resembling a drought-stricken grazing area.

compromised

Matsebula reported that the project would be of compromised quality if ever it was to be completed by the current contractor. Of major concern to the attorney general was that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport had been flouting and contravening loan requirements, rules, criterion, contractual obligations and construction standards from the first day of the project.

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