Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen is seeking a full audit to trace a R500 million grant. However, former minister and Speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza has hit back, saying he was jumping the gun.
It is getting heated in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen is seeking a full audit to trace a R500 million grant. However, former minister and Speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza has hit back, saying he was jumping the gun.
On Sunday, the DA said it welcomed the “decisive” action Steenhuisen was taking to finally institute a forensic audit after unspent and irregular spending of funds on a project of R500 million at Onderstepoort Biological Products was uncovered.
OBP is a state-owned animal vaccine manufacturing entity whose primary mandate is to manufacture animal vaccines.
DA Agriculture spokesperson Willie Aucamp said the party stood with members of the agricultural community in raising dissatisfaction about the OBP not fulfilling its mandate and thereby leaving the country with a shortage of much-needed vaccines.
During a portfolio committee on agriculture meet at the end of July, Aucamp said, the OBP had tried to portray a picture that everything was in order. However, last Tuesday, the auditor-general (AG) revealed that a large portion of a grant, given to the OBP in 2013, had been unspent and was unaccounted for.
“On receiving this information, the DA insisted that the OBP reappear before the portfolio committee to account for the false assurances that they provided to the committee in July. On the request of the DA, the committee also unanimously decided to execute an oversight visit at OBP as soon as possible.
“The AG furthermore highlighted that the OBP is not doing the basics right when it comes to auditing standards. This emphasises the importance of the forensic audit that Minister Steenhuisen wants to institute.”
Aucamp said it was clear that something untoward was going on at the OBP, and thus, the investigation was welcomed.
“This development is a crucial step toward restoring integrity and accountability within the sector. It confirms the DA’s commitment to root out corruption and poor management, as well as our commitment to advocate for transparent and accountable governance.
“With the DA in the Government of National Unity, citizens can rest assured that their interests are always at the forefront of our efforts,” said Aucamp.
On Monday, the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly said Didiza had written to Steenhuisen about the matter, clarifying how, during her tenure, the matter had been dealt with by the OBP board and management, as well as the portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform and rural development.
The office said details of the matter could be found in the OBP’s annual reports, including the audit report. A forensic report on the use of some of the funds was done and it enabled the OBP to take some of the concerns of sub-contracting to the Special Investigating Unit.
Didiza urged Steenhuisen to be circumspect about the matters he communicated to the media as those would have “unintended and disastrous consequences” for the department and its entities.
"It is clear that despite Didiza’s efforts to help Steenhuisen with the understanding of the intricacies of the department and its entities, during the handover process, this remains inadequate,” said Didiza’s office.
It said Didiza remained available to assist Steenhuisen about that and other matters.
“Didiza believes that it’s inappropriate to make definitive statements where investigations are ongoing by law enforcement agencies, and creating an impression that nothing was done to address these challenges by the previous administration,” Didiza’s office said.
On Tuesday, The Star learnt, through Steenhuisen’s spokesperson, that he had not received the letter.
“No, the minister has not officially received the letter. It is unfortunate that it seems to have been distributed through social media rather than being addressed directly to the Office of the Minister,” said Steenhuisen’s media officer Charity McCord.
The Star
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