Latest news with #SCOPA
News24
13-06-2025
- Politics
- News24
RAF suspended CEO - Collins Letsoalo speaks out at The Portfolio Committee on Transport
Collins Letsoalo has led the RAF since 2020 with his contract expiring in August of 2025. A few weeks backs Letsoalo was accused of misconduct and was then placed on special leave on May 27, 2025, following a preliminary Special Investigation Units (SIU) report that alleged irregularities in many high-value RAF contracts, a decision that was rescinded into him receiving a full suspension on June 3. After the first charges failed, he was charged with 'insubordination,' for refusing to appear before the SCOPA. This comes after Collins made a contentious decision to dissolve a group of lawyers he called 'greedy and corrupt,' and he believes his suspension is the legal and judicial elites conspiring in an effort to have him removed from office due to his latest decision. Read more | Two accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial dispute friendship claims despite photographic evidence Collins has decided to contest his suspension as he says it was unlawful and a part of a larger plot that started when he tried to clean up the RAF and stop a long running legal gravy train from those in power. The Portfolio Committee on Transport has decided to proceed with its follow-up meeting with the RAF board on June 11, 2025, at the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. The committee held a follow-up briefing with the Department of Transport and Road Accident Fund (RAF) to discuss issues that came up at the June 3, 2025, meeting. In the meeting, Collins also detailed grave dangers to his safety mentioning that his security team has been taken from him and he now walks with no security to protect him, and he mentioned other threats he's received prior, even from the taxi sector mentioning that it's no doubt his life is grave danger and it's just a matter of time. Letsoalo's case with the court is set for an urgent hearing on June 17, 2025.
The Star
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
AG still concerned about use of consultants in KZN municipalities
The Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) has seen an improvement in some KwaZulu-Natal municipalities including their reliance on consultants which decreased from R240 million to R220 million spent annually. Image: File The office of the Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) has seen an improvement in some KwaZulu-Natal municipalities, and while consultants are widely used, there has been a reduction in consultancy fees from R240 million to R220 million in the last financial year. Irregular expenditure also decreased from R6.2 billion to R5.7 billion. Nomalungelo Mkhize, AGSA Business Unit Leader in KZN, presented the local government audit outcomes of the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA) to the KZN Legislature-Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs(Cogta), on Tuesday. Mkhize said they made a call to action at the end of the financial cycle in 2022 and 2023, requesting leadership to ensure that the key service delivery indicators are being prioritised with adequate funding to fast track infrastructure projects and to ensure that there is adequate budget for repairs and maintenance. Mkhize said that the AGSA has seen an increase or a gradual improvement compared to 2022 and 2023 in terms of the audit outcomes. Mkhize said that this demonstrates that the municipalities and the officials are able to present a credible set of financial statements indicating how the monies have been spent. 'Although we have seen a decrease in the use of consultants there are a number of municipalities that do use consultants for financial reporting. We still find misstatements in the work that the consultants are doing and at times the consultants are taking on work where they can see that they may not be able to conclude the work with quality. "We are also finding that consultants are not being monitored to see whether there is delivery according to what was contracted for." The AGSA said that municipalities are still struggling with action plans not being implemented and that there was a lack of enforcement being taken against officials that are found to have transgressed previously. Mkhize said that this is the root cause for the continued transgressions and the non-performance in some municipalities. "It then creates the culture that non-compliance can go on without the necessary consequence management. Officials are not being held accountable," she said. Mkhize said that poor payment practices are resulting in interest charges and penalties. Mkhize said poor management of electricity and water distribution losses are above the acceptable norms in a number of municipalities. "There is a concern regarding the credibility of share grants received from national and provincial government. If it was any other business they would actually be at a point where they need to be closed. There is also insufficient funds that are available to complete projects," she said. The AGSA said that in municipalities that ended the year in deficit, where expenditure was more than revenue, many of them already started eating into the next year's budget. [email protected]
Eyewitness News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Minister Majodina says SA doesn't have a bulk water crisis, it's a supply problem
CAPE TOWN - Water and Sanitation Minister, Pemmy Majodina, said that the country does not have a bulk water crisis; rather, the supply of water is the problem. She said the billions of rand owed by municipalities to water boards could further exacerbate the provision of water. On Tuesday, Majodina appeared before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) for the first time since the start of this administration. The department said that while there's currently enough raw water supply to meet national demands, there are deficits at the local level. Majodina said that of the 144 water operators in the country, 105 of them are performing dismally, hence the water shortages. 'There's no crisis. When it comes to bulk water supply, we do have, but when it comes to access of water through the taps, there's a challenge.' She added there's only so much intervention the national department can make to ensure local authorities supply communities with water. 'That is why we are bringing reforms, that there must be separation of powers. We cannot be a service authority as well as a service provider.' By the end of April, municipalities owed water boards R25 billion, and Majodina said they were simply not honouring agreements to pay up.
Zawya
28-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Receives Briefing from Road Accident Fund (RAF) on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Special Leave and Ongoing SIU Investigation
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has instructed the minster to take urgent steps to restore the effectiveness of governance systems at the Road Accident Fund (RAF). The RAF Chief Executive Officer, Mr Collins Letsoalo, was placed on special leave on Monday, 26 May 2025. The committee has a litany of concerns, which include but are not limited to: That the board has failed properly to ensure that its senior officials are vetted for suitability, with the Chief Executive Officer informing the committee on 16 October 2024 that he had been vetted when this was not the case. Misleading Parliament is a serious breach of trust. Failure to perform background checks on a senior official, also unvetted, even though he escaped disciplinary charges at his previous state employer. The committee has consistently expressed extreme displeasure at the practice of state employees escaping accountability for serious misconduct by securing employment elsewhere in the state. Continuing for more than two years without ahead of legal services while pursuing litigation against the Auditor-General,and against the instructions of more than one Minister of Transport. Failure to appoint a Chief Claims Officer for more than two years despite a serious backlog of claims. Accumulating over R4bn in default judgements while failing to appoint either a head of legal services or Chief Claims Officer. The RAF has on numerous occasions been excoriated by the courts,including a case last week where the RAF attempted to overturn a R6m judgment by filing false statements with the court, and then proceeding not to argue its own application. Just two law firms in a panel of over 40receiving over 83% of legal fees (R83m) paid during the most recent financial year. The two law firms also received the bulk of payments in the previous financial year. The decision to place the CEO on special leave was taken by the board yesterday and announced to SCOPA by the Deputy Minister of Transport Mr Mkhuleko Hlongwa today in a meeting that was meant to discuss updates on the ongoing SIU investigations at RAF. RAF board Chairperson, Ms Zanele Francois, told SCOPA that the reason for the CEO special leave was due to a disagreement over whether the RAF should agree to account to Parliament, the content of the presentation and potential conflict in relation to the ongoing SIU investigation. The committee has instructed the board to provide comprehensive reasons in writing to the committee within a week. SCOPA has resolved to recall RAF to return with detailed explanations regarding the special leave of the CEO, a breakdown of spending on cases with a list of law firms, attorney and council fees. 'The Road Accident Fund is funded by taxpayers. It is unacceptable that any official thereof refuses to account to Parliament in the manner we have experienced during the past week. It is also unacceptable that the institution can accumulate billions in default judgments due to its failure to manage litigation properly, leaving the institution vulnerable to expensive default judgments that accumulate interest taxpayers must pay,' said Songezo Zibi, the Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Eyewitness News
23-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
SCOPA chair Zibi says time to get budget process back on track
CAPE TOWN - Chairperson of Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) Songezo Zibi says it's time to get the budget process back on track after a value-added tax (VAT) debacle that has derailed two previous attempts to table a budget for the country. In his latest iteration of the budget, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has opted to lift a three-year freeze on increasing the fuel levy instead of raising the standard tax rate. Zibi said the budget debate has become about taxation rather than the realities of spending cuts to key departments such as health and education to fund the R2.5 trillion budget. "The debate around the budget is supposed to be about the order of those priorities - and whether these allocations are sufficient, or to be spent in an efficient manner. We never got the chance to have that discussion. I hope that now there will be an opportunity to do so."
