The Public Protector's report on the probe into the third lot of allegations levelled against communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda will not be ready on time.
Public protector Thuli Madonsela was requested to carry out three investigations into Nyanda's alleged conflicts of interest.
The Public Protector's office had initially indicated the report on the third investigation would be finalised by October, but now says this deadline will not be met.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of October or shortly thereafter, according to Public Protector spokesman Kgalalelo Masibi.
“Due to human resources constraints, the investigation is partially done, with four of the six entities implicated already covered.”
The Public Protector is investigating all state tenders awarded to companies linked to Nyanda as per request by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Win one, lose one
The first complaint was about the minister's alleged breach of the executive members' Ethics Code for receiving benefits from an allegedly irregular tender from Transnet.
Security Risk Advisory Services, was awarded a R55 million contract by axed Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama. Nyanda came out in support of Gama during his legal battles with the transport utility.
The Public Protector found that the statement issued to the media by Nyanda, in support of Gama, violated the Code of Ethics, since he was using the influence of his position to do so.
The second complaint was laid by the DA. “It relates to a tender that was allegedly irregularly issued by the Gauteng Department of Transport to a company linked to minister Nyanda (Abalozi Security Risk Advisory Services), before he became a minister, and his continued benefit from the contract now that he is a minister and has a duty to protect government interests,” says Masibi.
In a report released in August, the Public Protector found that Nyanda had not violated the executive members' Ethics Code, or the corresponding provisions of the Code of Ethics with the awarding of a contract to Abalozi Security Risk Advisory Services, of which Nyanda is a former director, by the Gauteng Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works (GDTRW) for security services.
However, the report did find the contract had been awarded “irregularly”, but that no evidence could be found that Nyanda was directly involved in securing the contract. However, by its own admission, the GDTRW did take into consideration his experience in the security sector when awarding the contracts.
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