Special Investigating Units And Special Tribunals Act, 1996 (Act No. 74 of 1996)ProclamationsReferral of Matters to Existing Special Investigating UnitsO.R. Tambo District MunicipalityProclamation No. 172 of 2024 |
Proclamation No. 172
16 August 2024
GG 51056
PROCLAMATION NO. 172 of 2024
by the
PRESIDENT of the REPUBLIC of SOUTH AFRICA
WHEREAS allegations as contemplated in section 2(2) of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996 (Act No. 74 of 1996) (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), have been made in respect of the affairs of the O.R. Tambo District Municipality ("the Municipality");
AND WHEREAS the Municipality suffered losses that may be recovered;
AND WHEREAS I deem it necessary that the said allegations should be investigated and civil proceedings emanating from such investigation should be adjudicated upon;
NOW, THEREFORE, I hereby, under section 2(1) of the Act, refer the matters mentioned in the Schedule, in respect of the Municipality, for investigation to the Special Investigating Unit established by Proclamation No. R. 118 of 31 July 2001 and determine that, for the purposes of the investigation of the matters, the terms of reference of the Special Investigating Unit are to investigate as contemplated in the Act, any alleged—
| (a) | serious maladministration in connection with the affairs of the Municipality; |
| (b) | improper or unlawful conduct by employees of the Municipality; |
| (c) | unlawful appropriation or expenditure of public money; |
| (d) | unlawful, irregular or unapproved acquisitive act, transaction, measure or practice having a bearing upon State property; |
| (e) | intentional or negligent loss of public money or damage to public property; |
| (f) | offence referred to in Parts 1 to 4, or section 17, 20 or 21 (in so far as it relates to the aforementioned offences) of Chapter 2 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 12 of 2004), and which offences were committed in connection with the affairs of the Municipality; or |
| (g) | unlawful or improper conduct by any person, which has caused or may cause serious harm to the interests of the public or any category thereof, |
which took place between 1 January 2018 and the date of publication of this Proclamation or which took place prior to 1 January 2018 or after the date of publication of this Proclamation, but is relevant to, connected with, incidental or ancillary to the matters mentioned in the Schedule or involve the same persons, entities or contracts investigated under authority of this Proclamation, and to exercise or perform all the functions and powers assigned to or conferred upon the said Special Investigating Unit by the Act, including the recovery of any losses suffered by the Municipality, in relation to the said matters in the Schedule.
Given under my Hand and the Seal of the Republic of South Africa at Johannesburg this 6th day of May Two thousand and twenty four.
MC Ramaphosa
President
By Order of the President-in-Cabinet:
RO Lamola
Minister of the Cabinet
SCHEDULE
| 1. | Serious maladministration in connection with the affairs of the Municipality, including the causes of such maladministration, arising from the procurement of, or contracting for goods, works or services in relation to— |
| (a) | the construction of the Signal Hill Reservoir and the appointment of Amatola Water Board (“Amatola”) in 2019 and an alleged irregular payment made to Amatola in 2020; |
| (b) | the construction of the Mqanduli Bulk Water Scheme and the appointment of Gcinasonke Engineers (“Gcinasonke”) and an alleged irregular payment made to Gcinasonke in 2019; |
| (c) | the construction of the Mqanduli Bulk Water Scheme and the appointment of Khwalo’s Construction (“Khwalo”) and an alleged irregular payment made to Khwalo in 2019; |
| (d) | the supply and installation of a pump at Mhlontlo Cluster 1 and the appointment of Valotone 94 CC and Phoenix Tanks (Pty) Ltd in 2019 and an alleged irregular payment made to the service providers in 2019; and |
| (e) | the electrification of the Mthatha Dam and Highbury, and the construction of the Thornbill Clear Water Pump Station, and the alleged irregularities regarding payment of Amatola for these projects in 2018 and 2019, |
by or on behalf of the Municipality and payments made in respect thereof in a manner that was—
| (i) | not fair, competitive, transparent, equitable or cost-effective; or |
| (ii) | contrary to applicable— |
| (aa) | legislation; |
| (bb) | manuals, guidelines, practice notes, circulars or instructions issued by the National Treasury or the relevant Provincial Treasury; or |
| (cc) | manuals, policies, procedures, prescripts, instructions or practices of, or applicable to the Municipality, |
and any related losses or unauthorised, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the Municipality or the State as a result thereof.
| 2. | Any irregular, improper or unlawful conduct by— |
| (a) | employees or officials of the Municipality; or |
| (b) | any other person or entity, |
in relation to the allegations set out in paragraph 1 of this Schedule.