Group Audit and Risk

Tender irregularities are dealt with by Group Audit and Risk, not by Internal Affairs.

“tender irregularities are being dealt at by Group Audit and Risk”

Group Audit and Risk (GAR) of the City of Tshwane conducts probity audits on tenders, including appointing independent external legal firms to provide legal support and ensure objective comprehensive probity reviews before matters are considered by the Bid Adjudication Committee, to address past compliance shortcomings.

“Group Audit and Risk is a department within the city which is formally engaged and mandated to conduct a probity audit on the tender under consideration ... GAR further appoints an independent external legal firm to provide specialised legal support and to ensure an objective, comprehensive probity review prior to matters being presented to and considered at the Bid Adjudication level ... It is an additional step that we have put on board as a result of the deficiencies that we have picked up in the past in terms of shortcomings on matters of compliance.”

Group Audit and Risk submitted a Proactive Forensic Assurance Review Report into tender TMPD 01-024-25 for the Tshwane Metro Police Department. The report was completed and notified to the Accounting Officer's office on 4 April, allowing audit assurance before awarding TMPD 01-2024.

“Group Audit and Risk make a submission to the Accounting Officer ... It is a Proactive Forensic Assurance Review Report into Tender TMPD 01-024-25 for the Tshwane Metro Police Department ... The completed final Proactive Assurance Review Report form part that will notify your office on the 4th of April, meaning the Accounting Officer's office was given a go-ahead, an indication that the probity will be conducting an auditor assurance exercise before TMPD 01-2024 is awarded.”

The irregular expenditure due to the tender process must be investigated and reported to oversight bodies including Municipal Public Accounts Committee, Group Audit and Risk, and disclosed in the city's annual financial statements as such expenditure under Municipal Finance Management Act Section 32.

“It will be irregular expenditure. It must be investigated as such...It must be reported to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee. It must be recorded and referred to Group Audit and Risk for further investigations. And it must be disclosed in the city's annual financial statements as such irregular expenditure...It must be investigated in line with the processes of section 32 of the Municipal Finance Management Act.”

The probity report was provided to the Accounting Officer who initiated a proactive forensic assurance review exercise starting 15 April 2025, completed 23 September 2025.

“an indication that was provided to the Accounting Officer that this tender would undergo proactive forensic assurance review exercise ... The Accounting Officer was notified on the 15th of April 2025 ... completed by Group Audit and Risk by the 23rd of September 2025”

The City Manager has real power and can refuse to sign a recommendation if he disagrees, possibly referring it back for a forensic investigation if the report does not clearly explain legislative compliance.

“I think that he will refuse to sign. He will refer it back to most probably the group audit and risk to do a forensic investigation about why the committee makes the decision if the report does not clearly explain the legislative compliance and why it is making this recommendation. So if I was the City Manager and I do not want to sign because my BAC make a recommendation which does not make sense to me, I will refer it to the group audit legal to actually verify the correctness of it, and I will also refer it for forensic investigation, and I will not approve that.”

The forensic audit report compiled by Freddy Chauke was delayed in being forwarded from Brigadier Minnaar to Group Audit and Risk (GAR), getting stuck at the Chief's office and only submitted late, despite its critical nature for the investigation.

“Brigadier Minnaar sent it to Deputy Commissioner Dhlamini to say to him DC here is our report with the recommendation that it be forwarded through the Chief's Office to GAR . It got stuck there , it never went further than that and on the 10th of March when I started to query and to say actually I started the week before because the forensic investigators were with me and I mentioned them this report and they are like no but we investigate the same matter from another avenue , it is not from that report and when I went back to Brigadier Minnaar he sent this email to me to say no here is a report I have sent it to my Deputy Chief , I omitted to include you in the original one . And then I said to him can you please make sure that it immediately gets to GAR because it is critical for the current investigation .”