For some, finding the pot of gold is a long, blinding and sometimes futile journey. But for the creative few, it can be found at the gates of Gauteng's development agencies.
While the intention behind the establishment of these agencies is good, their track record has been very poor over the years. Recent audit findings by the office of the auditor-general have once again highlighted a familiar, but still heartbreaking story of mismanagement and self-enrichment in the Gauteng government.
The auditor-general recently slammed all the financial and procurement systems of Blue IQ, Blue Catalyst, the Gauteng Economic Development Agency and the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller.
The government is now on the aggressive, claiming financial and procurement systems will be transparent and promising to get rid of corruption. However, the truth is that the only thing that has been transparent in the province over the years is the high level of corruption in government agencies.
Grand failures
Blue IQ, with its grand aims to “unlock the growth potential of four key sectors”, which are business tourism, manufacturing, logistics and ICT, has not done any of the things it set out to do. Instead, the former CEO recorded bad investments of over R33 million in one year. She even invested in a fitness equipment company, which was later liquidated.
While the CEO may have had the ingenuity to allocate fitness equipment into one of the four key sectors - I think it could pass as manufacturing - these choices only made sense to her and government. The decisions, which had nothing to do with the company's mandate, were taken boldly and with no attempt to hide them. And while it was so apparent to some of us that money was blatantly being wasted, it seemed government was the only one who didn't see anything wrong.
The only thing that has been transparent in the province over the years is the high level of corruption in government agencies.
Audra Mahlong, journalist, ITWeb
Over the years, the agency spent money that was not budgeted for. Spending by management and employees was unauthorised and services were procured with disregard for any procurement procedures. The result was millions, if not billions, in wasteful spending. One of the biggest cases was the R8 million spent in one year on consultants for the Blue Umbrella project. All of which was paid in foreign currency.
The good times rolled on for many years. Projects weren't reviewed and performances were not measured. The Blue Umbrella project stood still as a result, with no progress in more than three years. No infrastructure was laid out and, as a result, no sign of the grand broadband promised for the province. All the project has to show for itself is a business plan.
Gravy train
Despite poor reviews from the auditor-general over the years and questions around several tender processes, the board and government has only now realised how bad (or good, depending on where you stand) things were at the agency.
More specifically, it all occurred while Paul Mashatile was either finance MEC or Gauteng premier. That could explain the absence of his usual wide smile when he was appointed deputy arts and culture minister. I know the ministry is not the most exciting, but I thought he would have at least embraced the step up.
It took irregular expenditure of R36 million, losing an additional R22 million, following the cancellation of several projects, and another loss of R5 million due to unauthorised spending, to finally get government to act.
The Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, which is set up to support small to medium enterprises (SMEs) across all sectors, only responded to union strikes. After increasing management salaries by 40% in one year and failing to invest in any SMEs for over eight months, only mass action got it to shape up.
It took over three years to begin the process of making the agencies work only on approved budgets. Supply chain processes are only being enforced now. Budget controls are also a new thing and the idea of the authorisation of spending has only been introduced now.
While the message is clear - anyone who was considering joining the gravy train should look somewhere else - I think it won't be long before another CEO finds another creative investment to make.
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