Gauteng Office of the Premier investigates recruitment irregularities in Sports and Arts Department

The Gauteng Office of the Premier (OOP) is investigating the provincial Department of Sports, Arts, and Recreation (GDSACR) for recruitment irregularities in eleven other senior management-level individuals.

In an email seen by IOL, Premier Panyaza Lusifi’s office informed the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the affected department about the scheduled investigation on Monday and Tuesday this week.

“The Gauteng Office of the Premier has appointed Lingwa Advisory Services to look into allegations of potential recruitment irregularities relating to the department, and one of the recruitment irregularities that we have been appointed to look into is your appointment into the position of CFO at the Gauteng DSCAR,” read the letter.

In response to IOL, a Spokesperson for the Gauteng provincial government, Vuyo Mhaga, confirmed that the Public Service Commission triggered the investigation following a complaint from the Public Servants Association (PSA) about (GDSACR). 

“The complaint relates to allegations of serious maladministration irregularities, including the recruitment and selection process of various positions, where reports regulating the recruitment practices in the public service were flouted in favor of the candidates with a close connection to management. 

“Furthermore, the Office of the Premier also received the same allegations which point to serious maladministration in some issues related to the GDSACR…

“The Director-General and Gauteng Resident PSC Commissioner had a meeting and agreed, amongst others, that the allegations raised by the concerned employees in the GDSACR required an intense investigation to establish the root cause of the constant allegations by the Unions each time there is a change in leadership at the Department. 

He added that his intended investigation must ensure that the alleged maladministration is permanently dealt with to ensure stability in the department. 

“Hence, Ligwa Forensic Services was appointed to investigate these allegations in September 2024. The Office of the Premier manages the investigation in conjunction with the PSC. This is in line with building a capable ethnic state as pronounced by the Premier in the State of Provincial Address,” concluded Mhaga.

Last year, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) announced it would investigate allegations of maladministration and corruption at Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) and the DSCAR

President Cyril Ramaphosa enabled the probe after he signed four new proclamations allowing the SIU to investigate interest rate swap agreements at Acsa related to State Capture findings and two contracts in the DSCAR.

The probe aimed to investigate contracts related to the supply and installation of a surveillance CCTV and monitoring system in the department’s Surrey House in 2019 and the Heritage Day Social Cohesion Carnival hosted by the department in 2019.

SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said that the probe would examine the procurement and contracting of goods and services conducted by or on behalf of the department.

“It will determine whether the payments made followed national Treasury guidelines and assess whether they were irregular. It will also determine whether any were fruitless, wasteful expenditures or resulted in financial losses for the department or the state,” he said.

IOL