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The Minister for Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, will face further questions about the Beitbridge border fence project.
Simple assembly, Gallo Images
- Patricia de Lille will face more questions about the Beitbridge border fence project in Parliament this week.
- De Lille has had to defend himself against those who ask for his head.
- Investigators found that the government paid around R17 million more than the market-related cost for the fence.
Amid a series of indictments and growing calls for him to step down, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille is expected to answer, once again, questions about the controversial Beitbridge border fence.
On Tuesday, De Lille will appear before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).
The committee is expected to deliberate on the R40 million border fence with De Lille, the office of Auditor General Kimi Makwethu, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), technical experts from the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC) and the Department defense.
READ | 11 officials implicated in irregularities at the Beitbridge border fence to be charged
In early September, Scopa and the public works and infrastructure and internal affairs portfolio committees conducted a supervisory visit to the border.
It found that the 40 km border fence was not suitable for its purpose and the construction of the fence was a useless expense.
The committees emphasized that a 37-year-old secondary fence, closed in 1994, was still in better physical condition and noted that the new fence was of poor quality.
Despite the damning findings, de Lille thanked the committees for their support and vowed to take disciplinary action against those involved.
The Beitbridge border fence project was initiated by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure in mid-March.
But, several months after completion, investigators discovered a cesspool of irregularities.
At least 115 violations were detected, which may have resulted in an “untold number” of illegal crossings between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The technical evaluation also found that important elements of the border fence project were not implemented at all.
The fence design had a height of 2.2 m, but the actual final height of the fence did not reach more than 1.8 m on each side of the edge.
READ ALSO | Ramaphosa removes De Lille’s powers to discipline suspended public works DG Sam Vukela
This made crossing the border into South Africa much easier.
The investigations also found that the government paid R17 million more than the market-related cost for the fence.
During a Scopa meeting in August, the National Treasury hinted that De Lille “had a contract, supplier or contractor in mind” for the border fence project.
The National Treasury was concerned about the De Lille board, which said the department’s chief financial officer (CFO) “should be informed about the costs” of the project.
CFOs are typically in charge of finances and costs are determined based on the needs of a project.
De Lille got even more thieves when he suspended the department’s CEO, Sam Vukela.
Vukela has requested that his suspension be overturned and, in court documents, claimed that De Lille interfered in the bidding processes and exerted undue pressure on officials.
De Lille, who has denied wrongdoing, has asked those with evidence to come forward.
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