In an attempt to deal with irregularities at the National Development Agency (NDA), Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya has suspended CEO Delani Mthembu and instituted a forensic investigation into charges of corruption and mismanagement.
The suspension of Mthembu was announced this week after Skweyiya received the results of a preliminary investigation into the NDA. On Thursday social development director general Vusi Madonsela met NDA staff to explain Skweyiya’s decision, listen to their concerns and clarify interim management arrangements. Skweyiya himself will meet with NDA staff next week.
Madonsela told the Mail & Guardian that a team of three, headed by the chief financial officer of his department, will run the NDA until the investigation is complete.
The minister’s statement on Monday this week about Mthembu’s suspension was at pains to point out that the suspension did not necessarily mean Mthembu was guilty.
Over the past two years Mthembu has presided over an organisation under repeated fire for its failure to carry out its core objective — the adequate distribution of government and donor funds at its disposal to NGOs that focus on development and poverty eradication.
Mthembu was a board member of the NDA when he was asked to step into the shoes of the previous CEO, Thoahlane Thoahlane, who had left under a cloud.
Documents in the Mail & Guardian’s possession show that Skweyiya wrote a letter to the NDA in May this year warning the agency about its excessive spending on advertising.
The NDA nevertheless went on to sign new contracts to advertise itself, and also signed a contract with a private security company to vet staff and investigate other NGOs.
There have been murmurs of discontent following Mthembu’s suspension. Some board members have questioned whether Skweyiya has the powers to suspend the CEO. They say only the board can do that.
Skweyiya also announced this week that the NDA board will continue to function until a new board comes into being and “preparations for that are at an advanced stage”.
The implication is that Skweyiya may reconstitute the board, which has been hit by several resignations.
NDA insiders say that some staff have complained that they first learnt of Mthembu’s suspension from the media. Some have threatened not to cooperate with the investigators appointed by the minister to root out corruption in the agency.
But yesterday Madonsela told the Mail & Guardian that staff had expressed support for the minister’s intervention insofar as it restores the credibility of the NDA. However, they expressed concern about divisions within senior management.
The investigation by Gobodo Forensic Audit Consultants and the Auditor General focuses on allegations of conflict of interest on the part of senior managers in the NDA. There were accusations of malpractice with regard to the employment of staff.
Besides investigating corruption, the auditor general has criticised the handling of finances by the agency.
An interim statement last month said: “Material deficiencies regarding the management, administration, authorisation, monitoring and control of project payment existed during the year.”
The auditor general also noted that it could be a problem that an investigation into irregularities is taking place just as key financial personnel (such as the director of finance, the director of internal audits and the finance manager) are leaving the organisation.
In the meantime, the M&G has learned that even as the minister tries to sort out the NDA mess, the agency is under fire for new dubious spending this week.
Disgruntled NDA staff told the M&G that the agency gave the South African NGO Coalition (Sangoco) R800 000 for its “NGO week” conference, held in Boksburg this week.
Sangoco executive director Abie Ditlhake confirmed receipt of the funding but said he could not recall the exact figure.
An agency staffer, who did not want to be named, said: “There are deserving poverty projects that need the money.
“Why can’t Sangoco members pay for the conference?”