Public Protector 'dropped the ball' in closing "dodgy" land deal case

THE Public Protector (PP) has been accused of “dropping the ball” after it closed its investigation into a multimillion-rand alleged “dodgy” land deal involving the City and the provincial government to build houses for Dunoon residents. 

Good party MPL Brett Herron lodged a complaint with the PP over a piece of land in Table View purchased by the DA-led provincial government, allegedly at an inflated cost for over R64 million.

In his capacity as Transport and Urban Development mayco member in 2018, Herron said he was acting on the advice of the City’s own land acquisitions specialists when he opposed the purchase of 17 hectares of land in an industrial park in the Killarney Gardens precinct.

He said the land purchased under the pretext for the “urgent” relocation  was also not suitable for housing, as seven of the 17 hectares form part of a wetland.​

The matter is currently being assessed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), to determine if it falls within a declaration relating to allegations of corruption involving provincial Human Settlements Departments and the Housing Development Agency across the country. 

Approached for comment on the status of their investigation, the PP's office  said:  “The Public Protector South Africa confirms that the complaint was lodged on 1 May 2021. In his complaint, the Complainant indicated his dissatisfaction with the Standing Committee on Public Account’s outcome on the same facts brought before the Public Protector. It was clear that the matter had already been investigated and finalised by a competent Parliamentary body. 

“After several correspondence was sent to the Complainant requesting further particulars, on 14 June 2022, a closing letter was sent to the complainant, and the file was closed for lack of sufficient information as provided for in section 6(1) of the Public Protector Act, read with Rule 5 (3) of the Rules Relating to Investigations by the Public Protector.” 

However, Herron said the last PP communication he received informed him which investigator had been assigned to the matter.

“The Public Protector has dropped the ball and they’re clearly in a shambles. It is not true that they have been unable to contact me. The Public Protector last informed me that the matter had been allocated to (an investigator) to investigate. I wrote to the Public Protector this week to ask for an update. In any event, the SIU is better placed to investigate because they can also take action like referring cases for prosecution and recovering ill-gotten gains.

“While I refute the Public Protector’s comments that they could not get documents from me, and it alarms me that once again there appears to be a problem with the Western Cape Office of the PP, they will not investigate a matter that is also being investigated by another agency.

“At the time that I approached the PP there was no proclamation by the President authorising an investigation by the SIU. Now that there is an SIU mandate, this is the best place for it," Herron said.

Cape Times