Costs of disciplinary action against officials at the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), after allegations of gross financial mismanagement were confirmed, have amounted to R2 588 422 to date.
In response to a question at National Assembly, minister of transport Sibusiso Ndebele also said recommendations made by the ministerial task team (MTT), set up to investigate the matter, included pursuing disciplinary action against the CEO, senior executive manager (SEM) and SEM of corporate services, CIO and CFO on various matters.
CEO Ranthoko Rakgoale and another executive were accused, among several other things, of bypassing procurement processes in appointing controversial company Lefatshe Technologies.
The MTT also recommended the board be held accountable for failing to follow transparent and equitable procurement processes in appointing Lefatshe. The board was subsequently disbanded.
A criminal case is being pursued against the CEO and two SEMs. The disciplinary process against the CEO is under way and expected to be finalised subject to legal disciplinary processes.
The employment contracts of the SEMs were subsequently terminated.
Settlement costs for the CIO of four months salary amounted to R260 872 and settlement costs for the CFO of six months salary amounted to R454 689.
Millions more
The costs relating to the legal action so far amount to R2 588 422. However, processes are still ongoing and further costs will be incurred.
Also, Ndebele said some additional legal costs can still not be estimated as yet and some corrective measures have “no cost implication at this stage”.
An audit committee was also appointed as of 1 October and will cost an additional R65 000 a year.
These costs are in addition to the millions lost or yet to be regained due to overcharges, irregular procurement and unauthorised spending.
The MTT recommended a skills audit be conducted for employees from the supervisor to the executive management level.
This process is ongoing. A review of the strategic plan has been finalised and the organisational restructuring process is still under way. The cost of developing a new strategic plan and related annual performance plans is R296 400 and the total cost for the organisational restructuring process is R493 976.
In June, the RTMC's request for increased funding of R92 million was denied by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport.
Costly police
In April, the RTMC established a National Traffic Police Unit to assist with the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act.
Ndebele has now revealed that this unit will operate at an estimated annual cost of R66 million.
This unit allows the RTMC, as Aarto manager, to be an issuing authority because traffic officers attached to the unit can issue infringement notices.
The RTMC was, in terms of the Aarto Act, the “issuing authority”, but it could not issue infringement notices without having staff to do so, and that was a reason for setting up traffic police.
The total cost for training of the issuing authorities amounted to R554 780.
About 280 traffic officers were appointed as part of the unit, to intervene in areas where local and provincial governments had failed, said the RTMC previously.
However, transport parliamentary portfolio committee members said it is not the job of RTMC to put policemen on the road.
They pointed out that the RTMC has to guard against duplication of services or law enforcement on national roads, or interference in the jurisdictional areas of others.
IT irregularities
Ndebele appointed an independent task team in February 2010 to investigate several complaints about the company and the damning findings of an independent audit, which showed gross financial mismanagement.
The report from the task team displayed key findings to be irregular expenditure, inappropriate procurement procedures and unauthorised use of eNatis transaction fees.
The task team investigating found IT-related irregularities at the RTMC to the value of R139 million. In addition, R300 million worth of electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis) transaction fees were used irregularly.
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