The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury has initiated a sweeping investigation into the awarding of multi-million-rand contracts within the Departments of Education and Transport, as the province grapples with severe financial pressure amounting to R9 billion in unpaid contractor debts.
Provincial Treasury MEC, Francois Rodgers, announced the probe, citing serious allegations of irregularities and corruption that have compromised two critical service delivery programs: the National School Nutrition Programme and the Scholar Transport Scheme.
The investigation comes at a critical time. Rodgers revealed that various provincial departments are currently indebted to contractors to the tune of approximately R9 billion, a situation he attributes to departments “spending more money than they have” due to immense fiscal pressures and inherited problems within the provincial fiscus.
“The KZN Provincial Government says its finances are under severe pressure,” Rodgers stated. “What we’ve done to try and stabilize the cash flow… is to ensure that we spend money that we have.”
In a significant move, the Treasury has instructed the Department of Transport to completely restart the tender process for its scholar transport program. This directive follows a damning report from an appeals committee that uncovered what the MEC described as a fundamentally “flawed process.”
“We’re not talking about one or two flaws. We’re talking [the] entire process was flawed,” Rodgers emphasized. The scale of the failure was underscored by the fact that all 64 appeals lodged against the awarded tender were upheld. “Now somebody’s got to be accountable for that,” he added.
When questioned on whether there was any political interference in the awarding of the contract, Rodgers said that while he was not sure at this stage, a formal process was underway. Transport MEC, Sipho Hlomuka Duma, has been instructed to report back, with findings then moving to Rodgers and finally to the Premier’s office.
Simultaneously, the school nutrition program tender administered by the Department of Education is also under intense scrutiny. Rodgers is awaiting the conclusion of its appeal process, after which he will forward the report to the Education MEC. He confirmed that any findings of “sinister” activity would be escalated to the office of the Premier for further action.
Rodgers asserted that any officials implicated in the investigative reports must face scrutiny. In a longer-term bid to curb corruption, his department is working to introduce a new electronic procurement system designed to minimize human involvement in the tender process, which is expected to be fully operational by next year.
The developments signal a major crackdown on procurement corruption in the province, with the Treasury taking a firm stance to address systemic failures and stabilize its precarious financial situation.
