MINISTRY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO.: 864
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1 AUGUST 2014
Mr M H Redelinghuys (DA) to ask the Minister of Human Settlements:
(1) (a) How many investigations were conducted for (i) overbilling and
(ii) overcharging for goods and services rendered by (aa) external
contractors and (bb) service providers in the past five financial
years and (b) how many of these investigations were conducted (i)
internally, (ii) by the Office of the Public Protector, (iii) by the
SA Police Service or (iv) by the Special Investigating Unit;
(2) (a) how many of these investigations were conducted by external
private sector entities and (b) what are the names of these entities;
(3) (a) what total amount of money was lost by her department due to (i)
overbilling or (ii) overcharging and (b) what was the (i) outcome of
each investigation and (ii) breakdown of monies recovered in each
specified financial year respectively?
NW953E
REPLY
(1) Fifty-nine (59) suspect housing contracts/projects were investigated
since September 2009. These investigations were conducted by the
Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in terms of the Presidential
Proclamation R.7 of 2007, which was published in the Government
Gazette, Notice 29831 of 2007 on 25 April 2007. This Proclamation was
extended by Presidential Proclamations R.35 of 2010 and R.15 of 2012.
This Proclamation granted the Special Investigating Unit a mandate to
investigate allegations of fraud and corruption in the development and
delivery of low-income houses in South Africa. The scope of those
investigations included, but was not limited to, payments for
incomplete projects; fraudulent claims; over-billing; poor
workmanship; etc.
The Department did not make arrangements nor does it have an agreement
with the Office of the Public Protector and/ or the South African
Police Service to investigate suspect housing contracts.
(2) All suspect housing contracts/ projects were investigated by the SIU
in terms of the Presidential Proclamation R.7 of 2007, as extended.
(3) a) The value of those contracts (59) was estimated at approximately
R20 billion.
b) (i) The high level findings of those investigations were:
aa) Non-compliance with the National Housing Act, 107 of 1997,
and the National Housing Code;
ab) Non-compliance with the Public Finance Management Act, 1 of
1999;
ac) Non-compliance with the Value Added Tax Act, 89 of 1991;
ad) Fruitless and wasteful expenditure;
ae) Irregular and unauthorised expenditure
af) Gross misconduct on the part of implicated government
employees
ii) Proceedings to refer criminal charges and recover monies
lost (civil cases) were instituted and/ or handled by the
SIU.
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