Allegations about political meddling are once again, and unsurprisingly, dogging Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia De Lille with the surfacing of a letter in which she purportedly instructed suspended Director-General (DG) of Public Works and Infrastructure, Advocate Sam Vukela to appoint a specified company for work within the Department.
Responses from her camp both affirm and deny the allegations – in one respect claiming a fightback from opposition forces within the department. While at the same time, confirming that she had been involved in the procurement process.
The reasons provided for her meddling may sound plausible to the uninitiated. But this is not Minister De Lille’s first rodeo. She cannot claim that she did not see her request as a contravention of Supply Chain and Procurement mechanisms.
She has suspended the Director-General, Adv Vukela for his alleged contraventions of these processes. She knows the law. She understands her role.
I will be writing to the Auditor-General and National Treasury to request a thorough investigation into this matter.
Having never cleared her name around the infamous, highly unethical SMS that she sent to a Counillor to influence the appointment of the City Manager during her tenure as Mayor of Cape Town, Minister De Lille has another opportunity to silence her detractors by providing all the necessary evidence to assist in the investigation.
We hope that she will use this opportunity wisely.
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