INTERNAL emails between Tourism Department director-general Victor Tharage, and the deputy director-general of Destination Development Shamilla Chettiar, have laid bare the deteriorating relationship between the two senior officials in the department.
In 2019, the Auditor-General SA (AGSA) issued a qualified audit report with negative findings of fruitless, wasteful, and/or irregular expenditure against the Tourism Department in 2018/19, in relation to the capital projects as part of the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Five years later, there appears to be a conflict on who must account for the report as various directors have been charged.
On or about October 2, 2019, Lerato Matlakala (chief director – SRI), Jonga Kuhlane (director, planning) and Mbali Zama (director, systems) were placed on precautionary suspension to facilitate investigations relating to alleged gross mismanagement concerning expenditure in the department.
In a letter directed to Chettiar and seen by the Sunday Independent, dated May 9, 2023, Tharage mentioned that he had requested that an Individual Assurance Report on the capital projects be submitted to him, citing that the same people that were responsible for the 2018/19 wasteful and fruitless expenditure were still in charge of the project.
“The site inspections I conducted revealed, among others, that the same officials who managed some of the projects for which AGSA issued the irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure audit findings continue to manage these projects.
“These are the same officials who failed to provide AGSA with evidence on the projects they managed when AGSA requested such evidence.
“Noting that many of these projects are continuing under your direct management and leadership as the branch head accountable in terms of the Public Finance Management Act of 1999 to, among others, take effective and appropriate steps to prevent unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and/or wasteful expenditure and losses.
“The portfolio committee has also raised the issue with the fact that the same officials who managed some of the projects for which AGSA issued the negative audit outcome of fruitless, wasteful, and/or irregular expenditure, continue to manage these projects. The DDG has been informed of the portfolio committee’s concern, a concern I have also expressed,” he wrote.
He asked that Chettiar advise as to which risk mitigation measures the DDG had put in place to mitigate this risk and its associated risks. “Further to the above concern is that you have not provided the individual Assurance Reports indicating areas where there are identified challenges with projects and stating what was done to address identified challenges, despite my previous requests.
“In instances where no project problems were identified, that should have been explicitly stated. Accordingly, you failed and/or refused to submit Assurances Reports, and yet you did not provide the reasons for your non-submission nor did you request approval to submit these reports on later dates.”
An earlier response from Chettiar to Tharage dated April 11, 2024, emphasised that the projects in question were historical projects of the organisation that were implemented long before the establishment of the Destination Development Branch which was created as a result of a restructuring process in April 2017.
Chettiar told her boss that his statement in the memo: “These were projects that Destination Development managed at material times” was inaccurate.
“Secondly, it is important to note that at the time that the 2018/19 audit took place, the DDG Destination Development, with the agreement of the DG, had been deployed to manage the MTSF process for the economic cluster.
“As a successor in title of the Expanded Public Works Programme, the DDG Destination Development has attended to all matters related to the implementation of infrastructure projects including the matters raised in the 2018/19 audit report.”
Responding to Tharage on what risk mitigation measures she would put in place to mitigate any risk, Chettiar had proposed that the Development Bank of Southern Africa institutes penalties where implementers had fallen behind schedule or work was not up to standard.
Three directors, Matlakala, Kuhlane and Zama, at the Department of Tourism have requested the Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka, to investigate Tharage for “abuse of power and failing in his duties”.
The trio alleged that Tharage was making them scapegoats for his failures.
Furthermore, they stated to Gcaleka that Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille was made aware. De Lille’s office said they would check with the minister before responding but did not do so.
Approached for comment, Tharage said he would not comment as investigations were currently under way.