SIU still to recover R1.3 billion linked to public works corruption, says De Lille

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SIU still to recover R1.3 billion linked to public works corruption, says De Lille
SIU still to recover R1.3 billion linked to public works corruption, says De Lille

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Special Investigating Unit is pushing ahead with its aim to recover funds from irregularly awarded public works contracts to the tune of R1.3 billion via civil court action.

This is according to Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille.

Since 2010, the SIU has been investigating presidential proclamations at the Department of Public Works that are related to the leasing of buildings for state use, the renovation of public buildings and supply chain management concerns.

So far, De Lille said, there are only 355 outstanding cases out of the 6 978 referred to the unit.

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She said 292 criminal cases had been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and only 18 of the referred cases have been finalised.

A total of 240 cases are yet to be decided upon, and 23 cases have been referred to the South African Revenue Service for further investigation.

The SIU recommended that 91 disciplinary cases be held for department officials. Eighty-one of those cases have been finalised.

The SIU is still working on recovering R1.3 billion linked to criminal investigations.

De Lille said her department took the corruption-fighting pledge seriously.

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She was speaking at an Infrastructure Built Anti-Corruption Forum pledge signing event.

The forum was launched in 2021 and aims to commit participants in the construction and infrastructure sector to the need to detect, prevent, investigate and resolve corruption cases.

It includes the NPA, SIU, Hawks, South African Council for the Architectural Profession, Consulting Engineers South Africa, South African Black Technical and Allied Careers Organisation, SA Bureau of Standards, Business Unity South Africa and Human Sciences Research Council.

“The Infrastructure Built Anti-Corruption Forum will galvanise all stakeholders into action and ensure that infrastructure-built projects are monitored more effectively and put measures and systems in place to fight against fraud and corruption [and] identify areas of cooperation to enhance prevention, detection, civil litigation and prosecution of fraud and corruption in the Infrastructure Build Sector,” SIU head Andy Mothibi said

De Lille said the construction sector was vulnerable to corruption through various methods, including overcharging for services rendered and colluding with department officials.

She added that the passing of the Public Procurement Bill would add the muscle needed to close any loopholes in anti-corruption legislation. She said crooks used these loopholes to take advantage of public money.

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