watchman services

Gubis invoices related to ad hoc services needed to be signed by Director Malatji because the executive instructed deployment and payment must come from the Watchman services vote, which falls under Malatji's responsibility.

“Gubis was instructed by the Department of Water and Sanitation ... such invoices were supposed to be signed by me ... by virtue of the executive having instructed the deployment thereof ... those invoices had to be paid from my vote, the Watchman Services.”

Purchase orders for watchman services are created for the full year, but additional ad hoc services are accounted for via invoices and GL accounts to ensure payment processing outside normal budgets.

“So we create purchase order for service providers for the duration of a year on the Watchman Services. So those comes as additional. So they create I mean GL to ensure journal of those, I mean monies”

The services provided by Watchman Services mentioned in the document were strictly ad hoc.

“Yes, it is strictly for ad hoc.”

Asset Protection Unit was returned to Metro Police which has its own finance section handling contracts and service providers like Watchman Services, distinct from other departments.

“AP S has been returned back to Metro Police and it is common knowledge that Metro Police, not like other departments, have their own finance section because we do deal with contracts and service providers like the Watchman Services and others.”

The operational budget allocation for asset protection services was increased by R305,611,361 from R489,374,219.15 to R794,985,580 due to additional funding requests submitted for Watchman Services, as the original budget was insufficient to provide guarding services through the appointed service providers.

“The operational budget allocation for asset protection services was increased by R305611361 from R489374219.15 to R794985580. This was due to a request for additional funding requests submitted to Group Financial Services for Watchman Services... The original operational budget allocation for Watchman Services was R245 million for 2023-24 financial year, which was not enough to provide the guarding services through the appointed service providers.”

The adjustment budget process legally does not allow asking for more money beyond the approved budget; funds for Watchman Services must be sourced within the approved budget if there is a shortfall.

“If you do not do your work and you come to the adjustment budget only and ask for additional funds for Watchman Services, then it means the CFO in the city will have to find funds somewhere else within the approved budget and allocate it to Watchman Services.”

The budget discussed only applies to Watchman Services, not ad hoc services.

“this only is, it only relates to the Watchman Service, this budget, not the adhoc services.”

Ad hoc services are not included in the upliftment budget because such funds cannot be uplifted or adjusted outside the established budget; financial information must be factual, balanced, and audit-able for Watchman Services.

“If additional adhoc services come in, it would not have been included in that because you cannot do upliftment for funds or adjust your budget on maybes. It must be factual information, the books must balance, it must be available to be audited, to be clear-cut that this is the finances allocated for Watchman Services and spend it accordingly. So, no adhoc services, unknown adhoc services would not have been covered by that.”

Due to lack of a formal handover, Commissioner Bolhuis and his team started sourcing information themselves and initiated a new tender process for Watchman Services as the existing tender was expiring.

“We started sourcing the information ourselves, we looked at what we had in front of us, and we were very busy starting the new tender as well, because we had to immediately, I think we started in August, immediately start with a new tender because the current tender was to expire soon and it is quite a process in the city to start a new tender.”

The tender for security services comprises two elements: monthly paid Watchman Services and ad-hoc emergency services requiring temporary guards at short notice.

“This tender itself comprises of two elements to it. One is what we call the Watchman Services, which is paid to the 22... in companies, which is sites that have been identified where they are deployed on a regular basis, on a monthly basis. And then there is a second portion which we call internally ad-hoc services. Ad-hoc service is emergency need. It is when it is a situation where there could be a break-in at the site on a Friday evening and we need emergency guards at a short notice.”

The payments for watchman services historically have remained fairly consistent throughout the years with very little fluctuation in the number of guards deployed, and any fluctuations come from adhoc services assigned on the side.

“The watchman services, the deployment, it very slightly differs... the payments stay consistent through the years... very little movement therein the watchman services... fluctuations actually came from the adhoc services that was assigned on the sideline”