- The SSA is vetting supply chain management officials in the Department of Public Works.
- Vetting of officials started at the department's Bloemfontein office.
- The Beitbridge border scandal saw millions wasted on a fence, which was often referred to as a washing line.
The State Security Agency (SSA) is assisting in scrutinising several supply chain management (SCM) officials in the Department of Public Works regarding the Beitbridge border scandal.
The SCM vetting project commenced in the department's Bloemfontein regional office, which involved 54 officials and bid-committee members.
According to Imtiaz Fazel, acting director-general of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), 10 staffers have valid clearances, while 12 top secret files have been completed and sent to the SSA for further handling.
At the same time, the DPWI vetting unit is busy with the outstanding files of another 32 officials.
According to Fazel, it is expected that the remaining 32 files will be completed by the end of June 2021.
On Tuesday, Fazel and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille briefed Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).
"With the assistance of the SSA, the department has vetted and issued clearance certificates for 160 SCM officials. No official was denied any clearance. A total of 230 SCM officials still need to be vetted.
The department intends to complete the vetting process by March 2022, Fazel said.
He told MPs that De Lille had requested the process be fast-tracked.
He said:
The Beitbridge project was mired in controversy after investigations found that R40 million had been budgeted for an easy scalable fence, which proved ineffective at preventing illegal border crossings.
Magwa Construction and Profteam CC built the fence soon after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of borders to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The department's national bid adjudication committee (NBAC) approved both bids for the project in March.
On 18 March, the NBAC approved the appointment of Magwa Construction to provide contractor services - at a cost of R37 million.
The next day, Profteam CC's appointment was approved to provide professional services - at the cost of R3.2 million.
Thirteen officials, including suspended director-general (DG), Sam Vukela, and De Lille's special advisor, Mellissa Whitehead, were implicated.
The disciplinary action against the [suspended] DG is being managed by the Presidency, while the State Attorney manages, on De Lille's behalf, disciplinary steps against Whitehead.
In September, Whitehead was informed of the intended charges following the findings of the Beitbridge Border Post report.
Last month, De Lille wrote to Scopa chairperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, to request the Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, to update the committee regarding Vukela's disciplinary process.
Asked about the delays of the disciplinary steps against officials, De Lille said: "I agree with the committee [that it is slow] and, if you look at the report of the Department of Public Service and Administration, you'd see there are hundreds of people who are currently on full pay suspension, but a disciplinary has been dragging on for years. It almost seems to be a norm within government."