Alleged irregular appointment of supply chain manager questioned
The DA further called for the appointment of Sikhosana as an acting SCM manager to be reversed immediately.
SEKHUKHUNE – The DA in Sekhukhune is calling for an independent audit of tenders awarded following the alleged irregular appointment of an acting supply chain manager (SCM) at Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM).
Hundreds of millions of rands’ worth of tenders for the 2020/21 financial year are at stake. “The appointment was irregular as the municipality placed a SCM officer, Gloria Sikhosana, on salary level 5, to the position of SCM manager on salary level 3 (a much higher salary bracket) on September 15, 2020.
This is despite the availability of other competent and appointable officials on salary level 4, which would have been the next level of supervision within the finance department,” said Cllr Solomon Maila
He said this appointment is in violation of the SDM acting policy 2020/21 which was approved by council on July 13, 2020.
“Clause 9.4 of the SDM acting policy states, among others, that “Only employees in the next line of supervision may act in higher positions, except where none of the ‘next-in-line’ of supervision is available.” In addition, the acting policy provides that the period during which an employee acts in a higher position should not exceed four calendar months and that council must approve the acting (appointment) for a period longer than four months.
“The fact that Sikhosana had acted as a manager: SCM between September 15, 2020 and August 13, 2021 (11 months) without council approval is a further violation of the policy.
“The practical implications of this irregular appointment of Sikhosana are catastrophic. In her capacity as acting manager: SCM, she has been responsible for the capturing of tender documents from bidders as well as deciding on which bids or tenders meet the requirements as specified and which ones did not,” added Maila.
Furthermore, she has served as a member of the bid adjudication committee for almost the entire 2020/21 financial year. “Given this irregular appointment, all tenders in which Sikhosana participated should be independently audited to ensure that they were all above board.”
The DA further called for the appointment of Sikhosana as an acting SCM manager to be reversed immediately.
SDM’s spokesperson, Moloko Moloto, said at the time the manager for SCM was placed on suspension, the only eligible official to act in the position in the unit, was about to go on maternity leave in a matter of days.
“The municipality was confronted with a difficult choice of appointing someone who’s on the next level from other units, but had no knowledge of supply chain management, or appoint the official who has many years of experience and in-depth knowledge of this important function.
“The municipality chose to err on the side of caution and appointed the latter. Leaving the position vacant would’ve negatively affected and delayed operations and service delivery, an unpalatable situation no responsible management would opt for.”
According to Moloto, the official in question has done the best in her role.
“This particular official has done a sterling work during the time she acted in the position. It must be noted that as acting manager, and while she sits in bid adjudication committee that’s chaired by the chief financial officer (her supervisor), the acting manager has no unilateral power to make appointments of bidders.
“The appointment of service providers is done by the municipal manager, as accounting officer, after satisfying herself with the process that had been followed by several municipal officials at various stages.”
