The KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli has vowed action against officials who flouted procurement processes and awarded tenders to two companies from outside the province under  the province’s Youth Empowerment Fund.

The two companies are said to be based in Gauteng. The R100 million funding scheme which falls under the Premier’s Office was established to assist youth-owned businesses in the province, however, in a report released by Ntuli on Monday, he revealed that there was corruption in the awarding of the tenders.

Ntuli stated that out of 38 companies that were flagged, two were from outside the province which he said should not be treated as just an oversight, vowing to hold those responsible to account.

“There will be consequence management for this. Those officials who were responsible for verifying the addresses for the applicants would have to explain why this was not picked up,” said Ntuli.

The report revealed that out of 57 flagged applications, 19 were cleared, while 38 were found to have submitted incomplete applications and two of them were not from the province. All affected applicants are expected to be briefed on the outcomes.

Allegations of corruption and political interference in the provincial Youth Empowerment Fund are also under active investigation by the Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka after ActionSA provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango lodged a complaint. The allegations surfaced in June and the fund’s disbursement was paused while the process of selecting beneficiaries was re-evaluated. 

The findings could strengthen the former Director-General, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize’s case who resigned amid the allegations. Mkhize is contesting her departure after claiming that she submitted her resignation under duress. She was allegedly threatened by the then-head of the fund Melusi Ndima after refusing to endorse certain applications which were suspicious.

Ndima also quit his position under pressure from gender-based violence activists. Mkhize demands her job back or alternatively argues for a constructive dismissal. Her other argument is that she withdrew her resignation while still serving her notice. The matter is still in court.

The Fund has been marred by allegations of political interference. The allegations were that it was a ‘cash cow’ for politically connected young entrepreneurs.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za

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