Dying diggers of Namaqualand need saving
| by Ofentse Mokae, MPL – DA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson on Sport, Arts & Culture Error! Filename not specified.Date: 19 February 2020Release: Immediate The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is calling on the MEC of Sport, Arts and Culture, Bernice Sinxeve, to immediately suspend the Head of Department, Ruth Palm, amidst serious maladministration claims against her.This comes after operations at the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture have come to a halt for two weeks and counting, with staff downing tools until Palm steps down.A report by the office of the Public Protector recently found Palm guilty of approving a payment of R1 million in 2016 to the Traffic Events company for one of a series of three events, that never took place in 2017.This is the second maladministration claim made against Palm in her capacity as a senior departmental official. In 2012 Palm was implicated in defrauding the Department of Roads & Public Works of more than R47 million.According to the PFMA Section 83 (4) it states that financial misconduct is grounds for dismissal or suspension.While we understand that the Office of the Public Protector has given Sinxeve 60 days in which to take action against Palm, we believe it is only fitting that while Palm has a dark cloud hanging over her head and remains in charge of the department, she be relieved of her duties until final resolutions have been made.Sinxeve also needs to ensure that stability is restored and operations within the department are brought back to normality. It is unacceptable for officials to earn a salary when they are not in office.The DA will again write to Sinxeve to ascertain what the current status of affairs is concerning Palm’s occupation of office.We cannot tolerate a situation whereby staff’s integrity is compromised and the business of the day is brought to a halt due to Sinxeve shying away from dealing with fraudsters in her department. State funds need to be accounted for to avoid maladministration and culprits need to be dealt with accordingly. Media Enquiries Ofentse Mokae, MPLDA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson on Sport, Arts & Culture076 108 3264 Chrystal LimburghResearcher079 2260 991 |
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