Question NW2674 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
13 December 2021 - NW2674
Van Dyk, Ms V to ask the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
What (a) is the total cost for investigating irregular activities involving the (i) former Chairperson of Council and (ii) former Chief Executive Officer of the SA Heritage Resources Agency, (b) are the names of the persons who (i) were appointed to do the investigation and (ii) appointed the investigators, (c) date was the investigative service advertised, (d) was the outcome of the investigation and (e) steps have been taken by his department in this regard?
Reply:
a) The National Treasury covered cost of the investigation.
b) (i) Price Waterhouse Coopers conducted the investigation;
(ii) The National Treasury appointed the investigators.
c) The National Treasury did the procurement process.
d) The recommendations of the forensic investigation were as follows:
- Disciplinary action should be taken against Ms Baduza for contravening the legislative prescripts and practice notes of SAHRA’s Supply Chain Management Policy.
- SAHRA should assess the extent to which Ms Motsisi, Ms Baduza and Anix Consulting can be held liable for the losses incurred on the project.
- SAHRA should recover the VAT overcharged by Anix Consulting and determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against the officials involved in the payment process.
- Engage with the Law enforcement agencies for them to determine whether any SAHRA official illegally benefited from the irregular appointment of Anix Consulting and extension of scope.
- Institute a further investigation into payments made to service providers (Trans Pacific, Creative Axis, and Anix Consulting) through the law enforcement agency to quantify the loss suffered by SAHRA and initiate a recovery process.
- Consult with legal advisors to determine what amounts can be claimed from Anix Consulting and to commence with this process.
.e) The Department played its oversight role to ensure that Council of SAHRA implements the recommendations of the forensic report. This has led to the dismissal of the former CEO, after undergoing a disciplinary process. In addition, the matter is currently being investigated by the Law enforcement agencies as per the recommendations of the report. The Special Investigation Unit is currently conducting further investigation on the matter under Proclamation 38 of 2019 issued on 12 July 2019.