It's not over for Nyanda

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the whole truth has not yet been told regarding the investigations into communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda.

In a report released yesterday, the Public Protector found that Nyanda had not violated the Executive Members Ethics Act or the corresponding provisions of the Code of Ethics, in terms of a complaint laid by DA corruption spokesperson Jack Bloom.

Bloom's complaint related to the awarding of a contract to Abalozi Security Risk Advisory Services (formerly General Nyanda Risk Advisory Services) by the Gauteng Department of Public Transport and Works (GDTRW) for security services.

However, the Public Protector's report did say that the contract had been awarded “irregularly” and that no evidence could be found that Nyanda (a former director of Abalozi) was directly involved in securing the contract, although by its own admission the GDTRW did take into consideration his experience in the security sector for the awarding of the contracts.

“There is no evidence of direct involvement by Nyanda, but we can't rule out indirect involvement. Suspicion must remain because there was more than one contract,” says Bloom.

He says the “fishy” issue is that the GDTRW only asked for a proposal from that one company and the motive for that must be questioned. “The influence for that will always be hidden. The whole matter is fishy.”

Bloom adds that ongoing investigations by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela indicate there may be more to come from the situation.

“I think she is obviously not convinced that the full story has been told. That's why there are continuing investigations. It's not the end of the investigation. More things may come up.”

The public protector previously said the two complaints from the DA may be merged due to the complaints being similar, but now says the report released yesterday focused only on the first complaint laid by Athol Trollip, on behalf of Bloom.

The second DA complaint was laid by deputy shadow minister of communications Lindiwe Mazibuko. It requested that all state tenders awarded to companies linked to Nyanda should be investigated. Mazibuko sent the request letter to the public protector on 19 July.

“The Mazibuko-Nyanda matter requires an investigation into all tenders awarded to Abalozi and when the Public Protector received the complaint, she was already finalising the Trollip-Nyanda investigation. Furthermore, the Mazibuko-Nyanda investigation is in terms of a different mandate area of the Public Protector, the Public Protector Act,” says spokesperson for the Public Protector Kgalalelo Masibi.

She adds that the Mazibuko complaint will be finalised by October. “Only four of the Abalozi contracts have been investigated so far. A lot still needs to be done. The report will go to Parliament, not the president, as the investigation is conducted under the Public Protector Act.”

The first complaint against Nyanda was laid by Julie Killian, of Cope, and emanates from reports that Abalozi had been awarded a R55 million contract by Transnet Freight Rail. In her complaint to the Public Protector, Killian alleged that Nyanda benefited improperly from the contract.

Trade union Solidarity called for the immediate suspension of Nyanda until a comprehensive investigation into the former military leader is completed.

The request followed a revelation this month that yet another government contract - to which Nyanda is closely linked - has had to be canned following discovery of procedural irregularities.

Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans says Zuma needs to take control of the issues around the department and send a strong message that he is serious about stamping out corruption. “This is not acceptable behaviour for a minister.”

The trade union argued that a new probe needed to be launched into the minister. This would entail a comprehensive investigation of Nyanda's influence on government tenders; this time including companies to which he was linked prior to his ministerial appointment.

Bloom supports the call for a new probe, as the parameters of the former investigations are too narrow, he says.

Moreover, Bloom says a complete investigation needs to be conducted into the security company at the centre of the recent revelations. “We have to know if there was a payoff; it's as simple as that.”

Bloom says questions about Nyanda's role in the company need to be asked, as both the canned deals revealed irregularities.

“The Public Protector made very good recommendations. She made very strong observations that this is happening too often,” says Bloom.

He says, in order to remedy the situation, the Presidency needs to take up Madonsela's recommendations.

Suggestions by the Public Protector are that the Gauteng contracts be reviewed and that the premier of that province be instructed by President Jacob Zuma to investigate any administrative failures in the awarding of the contract to Abalozi by the GDTRW.

Another recommendation is that Zuma directs the National Treasury to all contracts issued on confinement that exceed R1 million.

The Public Protector also says the Cabinet secretary should take appropriate steps to ensure that ministers and deputy ministers are familiar with all the provisions of the Executive Code of Ethics. And it recommends that regulations around conflict of interests for members of government executives be strengthened.

A statement issued by the Presidency says Zuma is considering the recommendations and he will submit both reports to Parliament.

Nyanda's office issued a statement saying in terms of the GDTRW complaint, the minister feels vindicated by the findings that no evidence could be found implicating him in the process of securing the GDTRW or any of the other contracts.

Bloom says he will pose a follow-up question to determine how much the GDTRW was paying Abalozi and how much it pays for the same services now.