Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille
Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille will investigate the architect whose appeal application exposed the allegedly reprehensible behaviour of leaders at the South African Council for the Architectural Profession (Sacap).
In a letter dated 28 July and sent to architect Mark Oates, De Lille wrote that — after noting the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) ruling detailing Sacap’s flouting of the Architectural Professions Act — she would institute an investigation into allegations made against Oates himself by a member of public.
The Council for the Built Environment is a public entity tasked with “instilling good conduct within built environment professions”, according to its website.
De Lille’s move comes after her responses to the Mail & Guardian, also dated 28 July, in which she said she was still in discussions with both Sacap and the Council for the Built Environment on the latter’s unanimous 4 July decision overturning the guilty verdict Sacap delivered against Oates for misconduct.
Oates’s disciplinary matter began in 2020 after a client, whose name is known to the M&G, alleged that the architect had failed to participate in development activities and put all items of appointment in writing, and used a bogus letterhead during correspondence.
The investigation that followed these allegations was labelled “grossly irregular and in contravention of the regulatory framework” by the Council for the Built Environment’s appeal committee.
The committee found that Sacap registrar Toto Fiduli’s attendance of a November 2020 meeting of the committee, which investigated the allegations against Oates, contravened the “separation of powers” doctrine envisaged in architectural regulations.
“It is apparent that officials of the respondent [Sacap] seemingly have a propensity of flouting regulatory framework by … engaging themselves in matters where they are directly conflicted,” the Council for the Built Environment said.
Despite the damning CBE ruling against Sacap’s leadership, including its president Charles Nduku, De Lille has opted to resuscitate the investigation against Oates.
Oates had asked De Lille to suspend the Sacap council.
In her response, De Lille wrote: “I note that the CBE appeal tribunal made its ruling based on a failure of Sacap to follow appropriate processes as set out in the Architectural Professions Act. I also note that a member of the public made serious allegations of substance against you, which allegations were not pronounced upon by the CBE appeal tribunal. These aforementioned allegations merit further investigation and I will ensure that the necessary investigations in regard thereto are undertaken, so that this matter can be fully ventilated.”
In her written responses to the M&G, De Lille made it clear that she was still studying the appeal decision and had not yet formulated the department of public works’ actions.
“I am still engaging with both the CBE and the Sacap to establish more facts and get to the bottom of the ruling and the recommendations made. The engagement with the team will direct the next course of actions from me which will be anchored on legal grounds,” she wrote.
“Actions that follow the committing of these acts of misconduct have to be premised on a thorough investigation and confirmation of facts.”
In follow-up responses sent on Wednesday, De Lille said Sacap was “forging ahead” with challenging the Council for the Built Environment ruling because the architectural council had “disagreement” with the appeals tribunal’s findings.
“As stated in my letter of 28 July 2022 to Mr Mark Oates, the CBE appeal tribunal ruling made directives and recommendations to the CBE on what steps must be taken to ensure that the findings made against Sacap and the issues identified in the ruling are remedied,” she wrote.
“I also confirmed to Mr Oates that my office has engaged the CBE and the Sacap with a view to fully understand the nature and background of the dispute as well as the steps that are being taken in order to implement the directives and recommendations. I am therefore not ‘digging in my heels’ in any way.”
She said that Oates, in his appeal to the Council for the Built Environment, did not challenge the findings against him but did challenge the processes that led to the Sacap verdict against him. Yet, she noted, the CBE appeals tribunal had decided to exonerate him based on the ostensible flaws in the Sacap processes.
“The department will also engage with the complainant to determine whether they are satisfied with the outcome of the process because the process did not address the actual complaint. Hence, it is important also, in the principle of neutrality, not to lose sight of the conduct of Mr Oates in the matter that led to him being charged by the Sacap for misconduct in the first place,” the minister wrote.
Nduku was scathing in his rejection of the Council for the Built Environment ruling, saying: “The ruling is driving a clear agenda of attacking the entire Sacap and mentions individuals with the aim of tarnishing my reputation and that of the council and staff at Sacap. It is not a surprise to see a clear link to earlier allegations which were dismissed as baseless.
“The ruling fails to deal with the actual content of the appeal and is one sided to achieve a particular agenda.
“If you are doing your job as a regulator, you will never be the darling to those that are affected. Therefore, I [would] rather be blamed or be unpopular for doing my job than be praised.”
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