Cop lease row set for courts

Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde is to ask the courts to rule on the validity of the R500 million lease involving the police and property tycoon Roux Shabangu.

Addressing a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, Mahlangu-Nkabinde said: “I have made up my mind… I am going to court.”

She said it was in the interest of all South Africans, and her department in particular, that the matter was resolved. According to Mahlangu-Nkabinde, she decided to go to court after seeking legal opinion from the chief state law adviser.

“Clearing the matter will enable us (the department) to attend to service delivery issues,” she said.

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she had previously asked herself why there was so much noise regarding the lease agreements between Shabangu, National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele and her department.

“I was worried (about the lease agreements) and decided to approach the chief state law adviser and it turned out that not all the players were interviewed. I suggested that more players be interviewed and as this was unfolding, too many truths and untruths came out,” she said.

She stated that she had noted with “great distress and disappointment media reports based on what we consider to be a confidential government report (the Public Protector’s report)”.

“In our view, these reports remain malicious and are aimed at defaming and demeaning the integrity of the government, the ministry and the Department of Public Works. Once again the confidentiality of the process between the Public Protector and the department is compromised.”

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she had recently received a provisional report from the office of the Protector in so far as her office is concerned and affected by some of the contents.

Her office has been given until Thursday to respond to what is legally its obligation. “While we have taken a view to treat your sources as rumour and speculation, we are further disturbed that the media has taken upon itself to be the accuser, prosecutor and jury without taking into consideration the constitutional rights of the people it has sought to defame,” she said.

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said on taking office in November last year, she took action regarding the issue of leases. “I ordered for the centralisation of contracts; I ordered a review of delegation of authority; I am strengthening the supply chain management process systems; we are capacitating the department in key areas; and, I have instituted a moratorium on procurement in order to strengthen DPW (Department of Public Works) service delivery,” she said.

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she was aware of the appetite of the media to get the DPW to respond to issues pertaining to the Protector’s investigations on the SAPS leases.

“It must be noted that the department will respect the process by responding directly to the office of the Public Protector and not through the media, an expectation we note is mutual between the two institutions (DPW and Public Protector’s Office),” she said.

Asked about allegations that the department’s director-general Siviwe Dongwana – who is currently on suspension – was threatened and victimised for refusing to approve the police deals, Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she could not speak on Dongwana’s behalf.

She also said she could not speak on behalf of Shabangu and could not comment on what he (Shabangu) said at a media briefing last Friday. “I am speaking on behalf of government and cannot speak on behalf of the director-general or Mr Shabangu. They should be able to respond,” she said.

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said she could not have applied pressure on anyone to approve the police lease deals, because she was working on the country’s economic issues at the time.

“Remember, I was deputy minister of economic development at that time,” she said.

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said mechanisms had been put in place to rid the department of corrupt activity.

“South Africans, we have heard you; you have raised serious questions regarding our procurement systems. We are putting better systems (in place) which will ensure that we are less and less in courts and in newspapers,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Protector has slammed the publishing of the organisation’s provisional report into the lease as unlawful and unethical.

The report was published in the Sunday Times last weekend in which it was revealed that the Public Protector had found once again that Cele and Mahlangu-Nkabinde had flouted rules by signing the lease with Shabangu for police headquarters in Durban.

The Public Protector earlier this year came to the same conclusion regarding a similar kind of lease signed with Shabangu for the Middestad building Pretoria.

Public Protector CEO Themba Mthethwa said on Monday the publishing of the report was unlawful and that they would communicate with the SA National Editors Forum about the publishing of leaked reports by the media.

“The reason we have repeatedly said our provisional reports are not for public consumption is because comments received from parties involved might warrant adjustments of content here and there. If published during a ‘provisional’ phase, it poses a challenge of unfairness to institutions and persons whose names are mentioned therein,” said Mthethwa.

He added the newspaper had proceeded with publishing the report even though it acknowledged the document was confidential.

“We are also of the view that the decision to publish this leaked report was unethical,” Mthethwa added.