Two Technikon South Africa (TSA) officials are facing a disciplinary inquiry after a forensic report alleged that they fraudulently authorised staff retrenchments and irregularly made payments to creditors.
TSA management has confirmed that Joshua Litabe and Bavesh Desai, both senior officials in the human resource department, will soon be hauled before a disciplinary hearing on allegations of irregularities and gross misconduct.
The allegations against the two are contained in a confidential forensic report compiled by auditing firm PricewaterhouseCooper.
The report accuses Litabe and Desai of cronyism and of failure to follow proper procedures in the appointment of consultants.
The report also claims that Litabe and Desai used the signature stamp of the institution’s Registar Tony Links to authorise staff retrenchments and to make payments to creditors. It is not clear how many staff members received fraudulent retrenchment letters.
The institution recently offered voluntary packages to about 188 staff members. Of the 188 affected staff, only 34 accepted the packages. An additional 41 non-affected staff applied for packages.
Professor Neo Mathabe, TSA’s vice-chancellor, said the institution has launched a probe into the matter. The investigation would establish how many employees received fraudulent retrenchment letters.
“I am not in a position to say how many people received these letters. However, the issues raised are indeed serious. The matter will be taken into the public domain once investi-gations and due process have been completed,” Mathabe said.
“The allegations have been tested and the outcomes are available. In all fairness, I have to take this approach so as to protect the interests of the institution while also respecting the right of individuals concerned.”
The report, dated March 2003, also accuses Desai and Litable of failing to comply with provisions of the Labour Relations Act and disregard for appropriate channels in the appointment and transfer of staff.
Litabe is accused of hiring former colleagues from South African Airways — where he was employed before he joined TSA — without following proper procedures. He is also alleged to have awarded a contract worth more than R800 000 without foll- owing proper procedures.
“From our review of the TSA policy on dealing with consultants, it appears that due process was not followed in the appointment of … consultants in that no record could be supplied to us that at least three quotations were obtained for the rendering of the specific services,” the report reads.
Attempts to contact Litabe for a comment were unsuccessful. Desai declined to comment saying he would respond after the Mail & Guardian had disclosed its source. “I do not know about the report. How do you have the report? It is strange that it landed in your hands,” he said.
Mathabe said Litabe and Desai were allowed to return to work after the preliminary investigation had been completed in order to enable further investigations to be conducted and to facilitate a disciplinary inquiry.
“The processes which are under way at present will result in staff members being charged and heard on matters of which I cannot now divulge the specifics. This bears out my commitment to good governance and the transformation of the institution since my appointment as vice-chancellor last year
“I want to give the assurance that where further instances of malfeasance or misconduct in the institution surface, these would similarly be tackled head on and dealt with in a responsible manner and according to due process,” said Mathabe.
Mathabe said she hoped the alleged irregularities at TSA would not harm the process of the institution’s merger with Unisa and the Vista University Distance Education Centre in January next year.
TSA has been fraught with allegations of irregularities in past years. In 1999, the Heath unit investigated the institution for irregularities estimated at R60-million.