Parliament has closed the matter related to the allegations that were levelled against Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke by a former executive at the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

This comes after the Standing Committee on A-G (SCOA) had to reconsider a complaint lodged by former Chief People Officer Mlungisi Mabaso, who accused Maluleke of “corrupt, unprofessional, and unethical conduct” in 2022.

The matter was reported to the committee after Deputy A-G Vonani Chauke handled the matter that resulted in the dismissal of Mabaso.

“I think we have exhausted this issue,” said committee Chairperson Wouter Wessels.

Wessels said the complaint has been addressed by the previous Parliament.

Although the matter was handled by the committee in the last Parliament, it was alleged that it was not properly handled and communicated to Mabaso.

This year, Mabaso wrote to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza, complaining that the committee had not thoroughly dealt with the matter and had since apparently referred it to the Public Protector.

Briefing the committee, Vonani said the Auditor-General of South Africa had commissioned an investigation into the conduct of Mabaso and sought legal opinion.

He said Mabaso had demanded a financial settlement after he threatened Maluleke with going public about the allegation that she was corrupt, unprofessional, and unethical following multiple non-performance.

Mabaso had claimed that Maluleke had “hurt” him and threatened to “hurt her” if he went public.

Vonani said the legal opinion found that Maluleke was not corrupt, unprofessional, or unethical, but there were governance and internal control weaknesses

He said the identified control weaknesses had been addressed.

“As a learning organisation, we reflected on some opportunities to address how we can continuously improve our internal control weaknesses,” Vonani said.

Wessels said they had received a report from Vonani on the matter, stating that the matter was dealt with, furnished with the legal opinion, and also with the investigation report.

“We did receive a report last week by the Public Protector on that complaint that I referred to, where the Public Protector scrutinised how the former SCOA dealt with the complaint and if there were any inefficiencies. The report was circulated to members, and you would note that the Public Protector resolved that there was no wrongdoing,” he said.

ANC MP Imraan Subrathie said Mabaso’s threats raised serious concerns about governance.

He asked about safeguards the AGSA had put in place to ensure that the leadership was insulated from extortive or unethical behaviour.

“Clearly, this incident has to be an incident from which we learn,” Subrathie said.

Maluleke said they have learnt out of the experience that there have been significant weaknesses.

“Since then, we have gone to great lengths to strengthen the capabilities and ongoing practices,” she said.

Mabaso could not be reached for comment.

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

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