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News24
12 hours ago
- Business
- News24
IDT mistrust: Minister Zikalala's whitewash that secured IDT CEO Malaka her job
Evidence suggests that interventions by former public works minister Sihle Zikalala and his close comrade, then-IDT chair Kwazi Mshengu, stifled Treasury investigations into allegations against then-acting CEO Tebogo Malaka and substituted a superficial probe by Zikalala's department. Nine days before the 2024 national elections, Zikalala endorsed Malaka's elevation from acting to permanent CEO on the basis that his probe 'found no wrongdoing' against her, but the probe had not been mandated to investigate Malaka. Last month the IDT was slapped down in its attempt to review the contract that Malaka was accused of mishandling after Malaka herself had deposed the founding affidavit. Former public works minister Sihle Zikalala downplayed the findings of an investigation he had commissioned, paving the way for Tebogo Malaka's appointment as chief executive of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) despite her involvement in a R45 million lease scandal. Part one of this series showed how Kwazi Mshengu, Zikalala's confidant and then-IDT chair, led the board in abandoning a National Treasury investigation into the parastatal's procurement of a new head office lease – even refusing to be briefed on its provisional findings. Mshengu and the board asked Zikalala to have his Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, of which the IDT is an implementing agency, investigate instead. The current story shows that while departmental auditors went on to produce a damning report on procedural irregularities, they had also warned Zikalala they were unequipped to probe and could not investigate substantive allegations against Malaka and others – a limitation he readily accepted. Despite the auditors recommending a further probe by the department's anti-corruption unit, Zikalala instantly wrote to Mshengu endorsing Malaka's appointment, claiming the auditors had 'found no wrongdoing' on her part. This was on 20 May 2024, just nine days before the national elections that ushered in the government of national unity. Mshengu signed off on Malaka's appointment six weeks later, as new ministers – including the DA's Dean Macpherson, Zikalala's successor – were being sworn in. Zikalala's exoneration of her had proved decisive for Malaka, whose elevation from acting to permanent chief executive was blocked after she had entered a five-year, R45 million lease with politically connected Moepathutse Property Investments behind the board's back. This followed a procurement process marred by allegations of favouritism. Moepathutse, which has denied wrongdoing or any relationship with Malaka, sued the IDT for damages and costs, which the IDT itself estimates amount to almost R14 million, after it failed to occupy the building. The IDT responded by washing its dirty linen in court. It argued that the lease was invalid because tender specifications had been 'tailormade' for Moepathutse's Irene property and because Malaka had signed without the requisite board authority. The IDT's defence took a potentially fatal hit two weeks ago when the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria dismissed a review application it had brought to set the lease aside. The judge found that the IDT had failed to prove the lease was 'tainted by any illegality' in any way. Malaka – despite being heavily conflicted – had deposed the IDT's founding affidavit. Malaka has not responded to detailed questions. Under pressure In response to amaBhungane's questions, Zikalala, now deputy to Macpherson, did not address why his endorsement of Malaka had claimed 'no wrongdoing' despite the probe's limited remit. He said, however, that he had held back Malaka's appointment for over a year pending the investigations and that she had 'engaged in legal challenges through her lawyers relating to [her] appointment'. Zikalala said that when he became minister in March 2023, his predecessor, Patricia de Lille, had already recommended Malaka to Cabinet. 'I am the minister who withdrew the [recommendation] for investigations to be conducted.' As detailed in part one, the board then considered procuring a forensic firm to conduct a probe, but hesitated to entrust the process to IDT management, then led by Malaka in acting capacity. One thing led to another and National Treasury, assisted by law firm ENS, commenced a forensic investigation on the board's behalf. Towards the end of the year, a reconstituted board, now chaired by Mshengu, canned the Treasury investigation and asked Zikalala to have his department investigate internally instead. The board's resolution still targeted Malaka though, calling for Moepathutse's selection to be probed 'specifically relating to the relationship between the lessor and the acting CEO'. But the new probe was neither forensic nor focused on Malaka. Zikalala – who said he was committed 'to serve with integrity, transparency and accountability' – shared the final report with amaBhungane. READ | This report shows that the request to investigate had been routed through the department's inter-governmental relations unit to internal audit, not its governance, risk and compliance (GRC) branch, whose remit includes fraud and corruption investigations. The audit unit agreed to help, but only with an 'assurance audit' to check compliance with control prescripts. 'Internal audit performs assurance audits and not investigations/forensic audits which reside within GRC.' So concerned were the auditors that the limitations of their approach be understood that they insisted on Zikalala's approval and board concurrence before they start. 'The minister approved the proposed assurance audit approach on the 15th of March 2024.' The internal audit chief signed off on her team's report two months later. Within its narrow lane, the report was damning. It was 'unable to provide reasonable assurance that the procurement process was fair, transparent and regular'. It identified multiple gaps in the procurement file and 'material non-compliance to procurement policies, laws and regulations'. However, the report also reiterated that 'our audit did not cover the review of conflict of interest of executive management, the board members, [and supply chain management] officials to any bidder, especially to the recommended bidder'. This, it said, 'requires special tools that we do not have'. The auditors went on to recommend that the board, in consultation with the minister, ask the GRC's anti-corruption unit after all 'to investigate further the areas' they could not cover or where information had been unavailable to them. No wrongdoing Zikalala wasted no time, least of all to initiate the deeper investigation. Instead, on 20 May 2024 – the same day the audit report was signed – Zikalala addressed a letter to Mshengu in his capacity as board chair. 'You will recall the proposal,' he wrote, 'to hold in abeyance the matter of the confirmation of Ms Tebogo Malaka… pending the conclusion of the investigation… The investigation by the department has been completed and no wrongdoing was found on the part of Ms Malaka. 'As such, I want to confirm my concurrence to the board's decision to appoint Ms Malaka as the IDT chief executive officer.' Zikalala did this knowing his audit team had not probed allegations against Malaka – and despite briefings from the previous board that Treasury had been tasked to do just that. Zikalala sent the letter nine days before the elections resulted in the ANC losing its majority and Zikalala his post. Mshengu signed off on Malaka's appointment on 3 July 2024, the day new ministers, including Macpherson, were sworn in. Both Mshengu and Zikalala denied there was any connection between their respective actions of canning the Treasury probe, declaring Malaka cleared by the department, and getting her appointed before Macpherson took charge. Mshengu, whom Macpherson removed from the board, said, 'You would also know that IDT is a state entity and its operations are not subject to changes in government. Therefore, the appointment of Ms Malaka as CEO had nothing to do with changes in government. In any event, no one knew what would be the outcomes of the national general elections.' Zikalala said the board had terminated the Treasury investigation of its own accord and that there was 'no so-called 'haste' on my part' to appoint Malaka. He reiterated that he had ordered investigations after becoming minister and had paused the appointment 'for a period of more than a year until there were legal procedures initiated against me as minister'. Another investigation Zikalala also stressed that Malaka's appointment was not the end of the road and that the GRC anti-corruption unit had in fact 'commenced its deeper investigation' as recommended by the internal auditors. That probe only started last November, months after Zikalala was replaced as minister. The department confirmed that the investigation was concluded in mid-February but was awaiting the director-general's sign-off. Its terms of reference included 'determining whether there was irregular, improper and/or criminal conduct by IDT official(s) and/or third parties'. AmaBhungane has submitted a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act for the canned Treasury investigation reports and will do the same for the anti-corruption unit report. Who will pay? Meanwhile, the costs of this debacle continue to mount. When Moepathutse filed its damages claim, the IDT responded with a special plea, claiming that the bid had been tailored to suit Moepathutse's building and that Malaka had concluded the lease without board approval, which was required due to its value. The IDT asked the court to pause the damages suit it applied in order to review its own decision and void the lease. When the IDT finally filed the review in March 2024, the deponent to its founding affidavit was none other than Malaka – hopelessly conflicted. She put hardly any admissible evidence on the table and the outcome was predictably dire. In a judgment delivered on 16 May, acting judge S J Myburgh complained repeatedly that the IDT had provided no evidence that its decisions were improper. 'The IDT has failed to show that the agreement concluded between itself and the respondent was tainted by any illegality. I thus find myself in agreement with the argument made by the respondent that this application is simply an attempt by the IDT to avoid liability in terms of the now cancelled agreement.' The court dismissed the IDT's application with costs and Moepathutse's damages claim, which the IDT's latest annual report says now stands at almost R14 million, is effectively irresistible, unless, perhaps, the IDT throws Malaka under the bus. The bills are coming. The question is, who will pay?
CBS News
18 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Camden County Public Works crews, residents and businesses brace another round of rain in New Jersey
Beginning at 6 a.m. Friday, Camden County Public Works crews were making the rounds with the threat of heavy rain and potential flooding. "Checking the inlets, all the storm inlets, all the drainage outlets, making sure they're clear of any debris," said Bob Harris, director of Public Works. CBS News Philadelphia caught up with the team in Bellmawr near Kings Highway and West Browning Road. Most of the storm drains were clear, but some had to be vacuumed out in order for the water to flow freely. "The pipe could back up in several directions and it could affect the other side of the road, you'll get water ponding on the road," Harris said. Perhaps no one knows the impact of flooding like Vinny Morelli. "It's a low point here and the next thing you know, within a matter of minutes, we got three foot of water out here," Morelli said. Morelli recorded video about two weeks ago when he said part of the Black Horse Pike flooded, and the water started filling his family's store, Tony Morelli's Market in Glendora. Now, he's bracing for another round of rain. "Before we leave tonight, we'll make sure everything is off the floor, we go into our flood protocol," he said. Morelli said compressors on the store's refrigerators have broken, doors have been damaged, and he's hoping for a long-term solution before heading into summer. "I was in contact with the mayor's office three times already this week. They say they got engineers from the state and local levels, they got things going," Morelli said. Back in Bellmawr, as crews packed it in for the day, they said they will also be ready to respond later Friday night. "We'll have a standard crew on call just in case we get a tree, an issue with a tree or a tree limb, same thing if there's flooding," Harris said.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Govt prepares blueprint to construct 100 footbridges annually
Chikkamagaluru: The govt has prepared a blueprint to construct 100 footbridges annually in the state. Work has begun to construct 20 of these with a grant of Rs 20 crore, according to Public Works minister Satish Jarkiholi. A grant of Rs 1 crore was earlier allocated to construct footbridges in the 36 assembly segments in the state, the minister told reporters in Halase village of Mudigere taluk on Friday. Surveys are currently on to assess the extent of damage to roads, bridges, crops, and other properties and infrastructure due to pre-monsoon rains in the Malnad region. Relief efforts will be initiated as soon as the survey report is in, he said. Chief minister Siddaramaiah will hold a meeting with all deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat CEOs to discuss rain damage and initiate necessary action. Since 2019, this region has suffered damages to its infrastructure due to heavy rain. Some areas have also experienced landslides. Most of the damage has been rectified, with bridge construction underway in some places, the minister said. The 40 km road between Mudigere and Sakleshpur was damaged due to rain. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Leveraging cloud FinOps: How to measure your cloud transformation value - Google Cloud: Future of Infrastructure CIO | Google Cloud, AMD Undo An action plan will be prepared for its repair. Necessary funding will also be provided. In 2014, construction of 40 bridges in various parts of the state were approved. Out of these, 20 have been completed, while work is in progress on the rest. Among those is the bridge on Hemavati river, at Bettadmane village, work on which is stuck for the last 11 years owing to technical bottlenecks. Meanwhile, in view of increased human-animal run-ins, a fencing will be erected over a 100 km stretch around forested land in the region. Barricade construction is already underway in Gundlupete, Hassan, and other places. A blueprint was prepared for the construction of barricades in forested areas – particularly those inhabited by wild elephants. An elephant corridor will be created, providing food and water to the jumbos, the minister said. Hassan MP Shreyas Patel, MLAs T D Rajegowda, H D Thammaiah, Nayana Motamma, former minister B B Ningaiah, and superintendent of police Vikram Amte were present.
CBC
a day ago
- General
- CBC
Site selected for new school in Reserve Mines
The provincial government has chosen a site for a new school in Reserve Mines to replace the Tompkins Memorial Elementary School. A news release from the province says the new school will accommodate 240 students. It will be built behind the existing school. The site was chosen by the departments of Public Works and Early Childhood Development and included evaluations of land options and community feedback, the release says. Public Works Minister Fred Tilley said in the release that the design process will begin this summer. The release says parents, community members and school staff will be involved in the design. No date has been given for completion of the project.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Round Rock nears completion of dam project to prevent flooding
The Brief Round Rock nears completion on major dam project The goal is to prevent flooding in areas like West Round Rock The city expects the dam to impact more than 1,000 homes ROUND ROCK, Texas - With all the recent rain, the city of Round Rock said it is nearing the completion of a major dam project. The backstory The city's goal is to prevent flooding in areas that have been hit hard before, like West Round Rock. It's where Cynthia Dunbar has lived for the last 41 years. Her house backs up against Lake Creek. Most of the time, it makes for a tranquil backyard, but every now and then it floods. The worst flood she's experienced was in 2010. "It comes in fast," said Dunbar. "It doesn't hang around. And it goes away real fast. It's just a mess, and the smell is horrendous." Like many of her neighbors on Lake Creek, she'll never forget Tropical Storm Hermine in 2010. "We came downstairs, and we hit the stairs, and it was about up to my knee," said Dunbar. "We had to be evacuated. The fire department came and evacuated us." What we know 15 years later, Round Rock's Executive Director of Public Works, Michael Thane is proud to say a new dam is near completion. "Even though it took time, there will be great benefits, and we're thankful for their patience because I know when the clouds start getting dark and they see rain and you live on a creek that you're near a floodplain, you're going to worry so this should alleviate some of their concern," said Thane, It's called Dam 101 and it is located near O'Connor Drive and State Highway 45. It's nearly a mile long and four stories tall. The city expects the dam to impact more than 1,000 homes. "This project will have the greatest drainage improvement impact to Round Rock," said Thane. "It will just be huge." The Upper Brushy Creek Improvement District agreed to pay 34 million dollars for construction with the city of Round Rock contributing 2 million for its design. Once it's done and submitted to FEMA, it could pay off big for homeowners. "What people are hoping is that it's going to get them out of the floodplain," said Dunbar. "I don't really foresee this side of our property being taken out of the floodplain. Hoping it will lower the insurance rates for some of the people because the insurance is ridiculous." Thane added that part of what took so long to build the dam is the fact that the Upper Brushy Creek WCID went into debt to get it done. The Source Information in this report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel.
