Former public works minister Geoff Doidge was advised by his then director-general, Siviwe Dongwana, of “inconsistencies” in a proposed police lease agreement, the Sunday Times reported.
Doidge, who is now the South African ambassador to Sri Lanka, said Dongwana “had found a number of inconsistencies in the first lease agreement”.
He told the newspaper that Dongwana’s findings were one of the reasons he suspended a multimillion-rand Pretoria lease for new South African Police Service headquarters.
A report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in February found that police National Commissioner Bheki Cele’s indirect authorisation of the lease was unlawful and invalid, and amounted to maladministration.
In her investigations, Dongwana told Madonsela that he finally approved the lease with businessman Roux Shabangu under duress, after Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde replaced Doidge in President Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet reshuffle last year.
Staff traumatised
Doidge told the Sunday Times that his staff were escorted out of the public works offices by police after Mahlangu-Nkabinde took over from him.
“My staff complied with all instructions and cooperated fully, as they were still in the employ of public works until the end of that month.”
“Some of my staff members were traumatised and the hostility shown to them was not justifiable,” he said.
Two weeks ago, Madonsela questioned Cele’s role in two controversial building leases. Durban’s Transnet building was leased to the police by Shabangu for more than three times the going rate.
Cele had postponed two media briefings to react to maladministration claims. – Sapa