Almost two years later, top parliament managers are facing the music for alleged lapses that led to the national legislature going up in smoke in January last year, resulting in a rebuilding cost of more than R2bn.
This week nine senior parliament managers were suspended over alleged security breaches that led to the inferno that gutted several parliamentary buildings, including the National Assembly chamber.
Some of the high-ranking officials, including several divisional managers reporting directly to parliament secretary Xolile George, are accused of human resources and procurement irregularities.
The Sunday Times this week established that almost a month ago George asked about 30 top parliamentary officials to explain why they should not be suspended over security lapses that led to the fire, as well as over governance irregularities.
Subsequently, 13 were formally accused of a variety of violations this week, with George issuing nine suspension letters on Friday. The other officials got off the hook after it was determined they were too junior to be held accountable and their bosses should be the ones in the dock.
The suspended senior managers include those responsible for safety and security at the national legislature, as well as officials in HR and procurement.
Insiders said George spent most of Friday meeting implicated employees to serve them with their suspension letters.
Parliament’s spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, confirmed the institution was in the midst of a “delicate” internal process of implementing the recommendations of an investigative report on the cause of the fire.
But he declined to provide details of the charges the officials were facing or the names of those implicated.
“Due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing internal proceedings, we are unable to disclose specific details at this stage,” said Mothapo.
“We are committed to following them diligently to ensure a fair and just process. Parliament will communicate the relevant information to the public and provide the necessary updates regarding the situation at the appropriate time, and once these internal processes are concluded.”
Insiders said George spent most of Friday meeting implicated employees to serve them their suspension letters
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said the party would ask George to brief the joint committee that oversees his management of parliament.
“For the stability of the institution, the secretary to parliament and his team should urgently brief the relevant forums in parliament on the specific charges and the process that will be followed to ensure that we continue with our core business of serving South Africans,” she said.
George last month undertook to implement the recommendations of the investigative report, which found that security breaches enabled arson-accused Zandile Mafe to set the institution ablaze.
He commissioned the forensic probe in October last year, shortly after his appointment, at the request of his bosses, National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chair Amos Masondo.
The report found the fire could have been prevented and called for immediate remedial action to be taken against those responsible for security arrangements at parliament, as well as related HR and procurement issues.
On the night of the fire, parliament did not have any protection officers on duty, supposedly to save costs. There was no head of security, and shortcomings in the safety, health and environment unit were also identified.
Parliament appointed a new security chief, Gen Samson Shitlabane, only in September — after eight years without a permanent head. He was recruited from the police’s VIP protection unit.
Another internal probe, ordered by parliament’s audit committee, also uncovered irregularities in parliament’s recruitment process.
It found that several parliamentary employees did not have the minimum qualifications for their positions and were appointed despite not being the top-scoring candidates. A total of 35 appointments were analysed. Twenty-two showed no irregularities, but 11 revealed significant concerns, said George last month.
“These concerns highlighted a lack of proper record-keeping for essential documents and a recurring pattern of noncompliance with minimum job requirements among candidates. Additionally, the use of psychometric assessment results to validate compliance with requirements showed inconsistency.
“The investigation also identified the appointment of acting officials without the necessary qualifications, possibly indicating bias towards internal or acting employees. The recruitment process itself was found to be unfair and prejudicial towards other candidates, with some appointments being approved despite irregularities in the processes.”
The investigation into procurement processes revealed significant instances of noncompliance with regulations and standards.
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