Lesufi releases second batch of forensic investigation reports

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng government has released another batch of forensic investigation reports, with some dealing with allegations of corruption between officials and service providers.

The 39 reports cover a number of departments within the provincial government, from the gambling board to tourism and health.

This is the second batch of reports being publicly released by the Gauteng government, following 47 released in June.

At a media briefing on Sunday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the reports come from the province’s internal forensic unit and external agencies like the public protector.

“If I have to summarise some of the reports, in terms of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), it was a forensic investigation in terms of irregular expenditure. In terms of the department of economic development, it was also a forensic investigation into allegations of conflict of interests and possible collusion between SCM (supply chain management), that is, the procurement unit, and some service providers,” said Lesufi

Lesufi says the public release of these forensic reports was in part due to the DA’s allegations that they were being hidden to protect people.

“We indicated at this stage that we didn’t have reports at our desk, but because there was this persistence that there were these reports, the DG then requested the departments to forward them. Because departments investigate, they don’t have an obligation to send them to the premier, but after we requested them, that’s when these reports came,” he added.