Flouting procedure

Isaiah Mzuthini Ntshangase, the Commissioner of His Majesty’s Correctional Services, has demanded that government pays for services rendered by the Correctional Services Club, which catered for the State Opening of Parliament in February this year.

The club is said to have been awarded the catering tender despite that it was one of the highest bidders.
The club is further said to have flouted government procedure in that a government order was not issued and that the Tender Board was not involved in the awarding of the tender.

Despite all the above, the commissioner has come out to demand payment which was withheld by the office of the Auditor General (AG) pending clarification of certain irregularities.
Does the commissioner think his department is above the law and, therefore, does not need to comply with set down rules and regulations aimed at combating the already unmanageable corruption that has festered in government?

The commissioner is quoted as having said the club served a nice meal which was accompanied with a nice cold drink in a nicely air-conditioned room so nobody broke out in a sweat on the day. He is said to have said he did not understand why government was withholding payment.
For the head of the service not to understand that flouting procedure is against the rules is very worrying.

Not just because he should be a forerunner when it comes to following the procurement procedures to the letter as stated in the Procurement Act but because it forces us to question what other procedures he has allowed the club to bend?
This also forces us to wonder what else Mzuthini has disregarded, during his tenure?  
His demand for payment despite the fact that government procedure was ‘allegedly’ flouted during the awarding of the tender, begs for more answers.

To maintain the good reputation that His Majesty’s Correctional Services has enjoyed over the years, Mzuthini should allow all processes which include audits and scrutiny on how the tender was awarded before demanding payments, not unless there is something they fear could be revealed if the payment gets delayed.     
 
Generous old lady

Judith Simelane, a 93-year-old lady,  has generously given E15 million worth of property to the church. The gift has one condition though, that the church continues to carry through the projects she started.

These projects include looking after the orphans who are currently housed in the two homes on the property.
Simelane said the decision to hand over the property to the church was because they were too old to run the project and most of the committee members have since died. And that in view of the fact that this was a social responsibility the committee felt the church was better placed to handle the project since social responsibility is part of the church’s mandate.

She could have sold her property and lived very comfortable with her family but instead she chose to give up her property to the church so that many can benefit. An act of kindness of this magnitude is quite unusual especially in the society we now live in where everyone has to grab as much as possible for themselves. We applaud her actions and hope others can follow suit by giving the little they have to those who need it the most.

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