Gauteng roads and transport head Benedicta Monama will not have her contract renewed due to allegations of tender maladministration.
Her contract expired at the end of July.
Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane announced in Johannesburg on Thursday that due to the serious nature of the allegations, Monama would not remain employed by the Gauteng government.
An auditor general’s report found that Monama had signed contracts with service providers, despite being advised not to by the provincial treasury.
Provincial minister of roads and transport Ismail Vadi commissioned the report.
The report found “systematic shortcomings” in the roads and transport department that had allowed Monama to enter into contracts without ‘following due process as prescribed in the Public Finance Management Act”.
No work had started on the tenders because they had not been approved by the provincial minister. The Gauteng government and the departments of finance, and roads and transport were currently investigating whether to honour the contracts.
DA Gauteng caucus Leader Jack Bloom slammed the Gauteng government’s response as “weak, considering Monama entered into a R1-billion, 10-year contract to run drivers testing centres”. He said she should have faced disciplinary action and been fired.
Bloom says he would consider charging Monama under Section 86 of the Public Finance Management Act for “financial misconduct” and “wilful and gross negligence”.
But the premier countered that the Gauteng government was taking the allegations seriously by not renewing her contract. The department “concluded that retaining Monama within the Gauteng provincial government would not have been in the best interest of the people of Gauteng”.
Mokonyane said the relationship between Monama and Vadi had also broken down following the report’s findings.
Mokonyane told the Mail and Guardian that it “not yet been established if Monama benefitted from the tenders”.
Mokonyane said that although no legal action was being taken at the moment, once further investigations are complete, it was possible Monama could face criminal charges.
Mokonyane also said that provincial minister Ismail Vadi was investigating officials in the roads and transport department who may have been involved in the tender irregularities.
The premier has asked the department of roads and transport to put proper systems in place to “tighten the use and management of public funds” and better manage contracts.