A report by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) details an example of corruption made possible by flawed systems and poor oversight, with powerful lessons for all Public Sector Agencies.
In a statement, the CCC said the Report, Misconduct within the Department of Communities relating to country building projects, revealed how a senior project delivery manager with the Housing Authority (now part of the Department of Communities) was paid by two men whose companies were awarded lucrative contracts.
The Commission said the corruption came to light during the Department of Communities’ own review of all its business areas.
“An officer noticed an unusual transaction, reported it to their superior, David Leszenko, who enforced policies and procedures in relation to contracts and encouraged his team to report anomalies,” the Commission said.
It said the Report served as a warning to all other State Government Departments to ensure they had strong corruption prevention controls as “having procedures is not enough”.
“They must be followed and enforced,” it said.
According to the Commission, the misconduct occurred because the manager had considerable discretion over the award of contracts for construction, renovation and repair of social housing in regional and Aboriginal communities.
“This included the authority to award contracts of up to $50,000 without competitive quotes,” it said.
“There were inadequate checks and balances in the system.
“He was not held to account.”
The Commission said the Report revealed a web of deceit, manipulation and breaches, which in the CCC’s opinion constituted serious misconduct.
The CCC commended the Department of Communities for the steps taken to identify and reduce corruption, noting it had seen a significant improvement in the enforcement of procedures.
“As well as serving as a warning to Public Sector Agencies to ensure their systems and processes are corruption resistant, this Report underlines the duty and value of every Public Sector officer speaking up when confronted by, or suspicious of, suspected corruption,” it said.
The CCC’s 33-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
