Johannesburg - In June 2022, public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane exonerated ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina of any wrongdoing in a matter involving a personal protective equipment (PPE) tender awarded to her son Mkhonto Wesizwe in January 2021.
However, in her latest report, acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka has referred the matter to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks).
This comes after the latest probe into the matter, with the public protector having ordered National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Amos Masondo to make the necessary arrangements within 190 days.
Gcaleka has asked Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo to pass the required regulations on the allocation and use of any funds provided by Parliament to political parties or members of parliament, as detailed in the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act (MFPPLA).
On April 26, 2022, ANC MP Mervin Dirks claimed nepotism on the part of the ANC chief whip after the ruling party’s constituency office awarded a PPE tender to supply thermometers worth R52 500 to the company owned by Majodina's son.
Dirks further alleged that Majodina created a graphic designer position in her office and employed her son without following due process.
According to Gcaleka, the office of the ANC caucus in Parliament received R286.5 million to assist members of parliament in conducting oversight over the executive, its departments, and constituency work.
"The public protector was subsequently requested to investigate this allocation to reveal how much was spent on PPEs and other tenders during the 2020/2021 financial year. The allegation that the Parliament has failed and/or unduly delayed putting adequate regulatory measures in place to ensure transparency, accountability, and sound management and expenditure of its finances is substantiated,“ reads the public protector’s report.
“It was conceded by the Speaker during the course of this investigation that the executive authority of Parliament has not yet issued the regulations contemplated in terms of Section 34 of the FMPPLA.
"The Speaker submitted that Parliament is still in a process of adopting the draft regulations, which are yet to be presented to the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament," the report adds.
The Star