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Fresh allegations follows newly appointed Tourism Minister
Lindiwe Sisulu has been accused of delaying the hiring of top executives on the Amatola Water Board because her “preferred candidates” did not make the cut, and a former CEO has been fired for refusing to pay a company millions without following correct procurement procedures.
As a result of her alleged meddling, the board now has two chairpersons. These claims have surfaced just as Sisulu begins her new job as tourism minister, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday night.
An anonymous letter to Parliament’s water and sanitation portfolio committee made the claims against the former human settlements, water, and sanitation minister. According to allegations made by some “concerned personnel” at the Eastern Cape water utility, Sisulu’s office is involved in both human resources and financial issues. Sisulu was suing former Amatola Water CEO Vuyo Zitumane and ex-Lepelle Northern Water Board CEO Phineas Legodi for reputational injury and defamation for their remarks after she took disciplinary action against both executives prior to the reshuffle.
According to the anonymous letter, Sisulu’s adviser at Amatola Water, Mphumzi Mdekazi, requested R60 million from the department for drought relief, but received far more than that. According to the letter, there was indication that a representative from Sisulu’s office was attempting to exert control over Amatola’s activities. Mdekazi allegedly “told the CEO that Amatola will receive R230 million and that 60% of it should be distributed” to a specific company, the name of which is known to City Press but cannot be divulged due to attempts to reach its executives for comment being fruitless.
According to the letter, Zitumane refused “because the supply chain management processes were not followed, and the minister immediately launched an investigation against Zitumane.” Steven Motale, Sisulu’s spokesperson, has not responded to inquiries concerning the R230 million drought relief fund or the allegations surrounding it. Mdekazi, he added, was an adviser on the sanitation and infrastructure panel. “No way [the minister] can be swayed by anyone to run the board, whether it’s Mdekazi or advisers,” Motale continued. Meanwhile, Zitumane says the board’s decision to suspend her had “no basis in fact or law.”
“Mdekazi’s behavior is part of a criminal inquiry, and Zitumane would rather let that process be,” her lawyer, Java Mama, said when asked about the R230 million and Mdekazi’s suspected involvement. Buhle Tonise, the suspended deputy chairperson of Amatola Water, said that the board’s acting chairwoman, Zamikhaya Xalisa, told her that a contender for the job of chief financial officer was “ordered by the minister’s personnel to see him at a hotel prior to the interviews.”
Tonise provided a letter dated July 22 and an affidavit dated May 25, both of which raise various human resource issues, according to City Press. Tonise was suspended after an unnamed board member claimed in a letter to Sisulu that Tonise tried to persuade fellow board members to pick their favorite candidates so that they could “pocket something” because “a Cabinet upheaval is looming.” The board was instructed by Sisulu’s administration to look into the claims.
Tonise feels she was suspended for standing firm in the face of misconduct and “ensuring that the minister’s anti-corruption position is respected in respect of every decision and action.
“There was a public notion that I was working against the minister. On the contrary, she wrote to Sisulu, “I have specific instances to quote where I vehemently refused to participate in hastily constructed judgments that had the potential to disgrace you [minister] and undercut your publicly declared stance against corruption.” Tonise claimed in the letter that Xalisa acknowledged that he met one of the chief financial officer candidates at a hotel before the interviews. When Tonise brought up the matter of the meeting with a candidate, Xalisa told her that the candidate was “favored by the minister” and that was why he met him.
While Tonise’s office had ordered an investigation based on the anonymous board member’s letter, Motale stated that Sisulu “takes strong exception to rumours being peddled by faceless sources implicating her in interfering in the recruitment process at Amatola Water Board, without producing a shred of evidence.
“The minister does not get involved in the day-to-day operations of her departments or their subsidiaries, such as water boards. She despises corruption and works to promote clean government and an anti-corruption environment.
“A letter was issued to the chairperson denying rumors of individuals claiming to have received a mandate from the minister. The minister does not have the authority to run the board, but he can interfere if the law requires it,” he explained. When it comes to executive appointments, Motale says, “That is purely a board process.” The board of directors and union members were concerned about the recruitment process, and a letter was made to that effect, namely for the chief financial officer [position], and the problem is being investigated.”
Amatola Water had two board chairmen, according to Motale. Sisulu named acting chairperson Zama Xalisa on May 22, less than three months after Mncedisi Malotana took over as chairperson in March. The response from Sisulu to Malotana, dated May 28, acknowledges receipt of his May 19 letter and grants him three months of special vacation, as requested. Malotana, who was purportedly on sick leave, had never missed a board meeting led by Xalisa, according to several officials and at least two board members.
Malotana’s vacation was “just related to the chairman obligations because they are more demanding than just being a member,” according to Amatola spokesperson Nosisa Sogayise.
“The institution does not have minutes or conversation that show the meeting of Zitumane and Mdekazi,” Sogayise said of the R230 million drought relief fund for Amatola Water and the idea that 60% of it be paid to a firm. The institution only follows the minister’s official documented directions, and if they aren’t documented in any way, they aren’t official – and hence don’t exist.”
“The post was open to every qualifying candidate without any reservations or favoritism,” Sogayise said, denying that Sisulu or officials from her office were pushing themselves on Amatola Water and that there were attempts to influence executive choices.
“A panel with the institution’s best interests in mind will always make a recommendation based on the candidate’s demonstrated strengths and experience.”