SOUTH AFRICA
A South African Government Department’s chief watchdog on expenditure is himself under investigation for double-dipping on his salary.
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has told the Public Service Commission that it wants a report on circumstances surrounding the employment of Boitumelo “Cox” Mokgoro (pictured) before the end of the year.
Mr Mokgoro is the Chief Financial Officer of the Property Management Trading entity at the Department of Public Works and has long been vocal about expenditure waste at the Department.
In 2013, he informed Parliament that Department officials colluded with suppliers to ensure it forked out ZAR200 (A$19.50) per glass of water at an event.
However, he has now been investigated for occupying more than one high-profile position in the Department, including a special role as Adviser to the Minister.
The Department agreed that Mr Mokgoro could occupy the two posts after taking guidance from a consultancy firm, which, it is alleged, Mr Mokgoro owns.
This led to the official earning more than ZAR2 million (A$190,000) annually from the Department.
Director-General of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Dovhani Mamphiswana later told SCOPA that Mr Mokgoro’s appointment was “irregular” as it violated prescripts of the Public Service Act‚ the Public Finance Management Act and the constitutional values of clean governance and ethical conduct in the Public Service.
Mr Mamphiswana said Mr Mokgoro’s secondment to the Department was irregularly approved first by former Minister for Public Works, Nathi Nhleko in November 2017 and by the latest Minister, Thulas Nxesi in June‚ with both signing the employment contract “retrospectively”.
Pretoria, 24 October 2018
