Premier to act on DG over funeral costs

By Staff Reporter

BLOEMFONTEIN – The Public Protector has found that C-Squared, an events company that was appointed as a service provider for the funeral of the late Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe, was engaged without following the correct bidding processes.

Makgoe, one of the longest-serving MECs in the Free State, died in a car accident in March 2023. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State has called the R3.5 million bill an “abuse of state resources”, and filed a complaint with the Public Protector.
In a written reply to the DA, which had asked about the cost of Makgoe’s funeral, then Premier Mxolisi Dukwana’s revealed that the events company was appointed as service provider for the funeral of the late Makgoe.

Provincial DA leader, Roy Jankielsohn, said the cost of Makgoe’s three funeral events amounted to R3 432 676.
It seems the most money at the funeral was used for beverages, which amounted to R1 288 500. Different artists charged R355 000, flowers were R59 000, 20 couches for the family and dignitaries at two events cost a total of R28 380. A casket and burial plot were R130 900, and various other items that included lighting, stages, red carpets, projectors, and toilets added to the total of over R3 million.

PP Kholeka Gcaleka,said she realized that the province also paid for the funeral of warrant officer Piet Mdi, a member of the SAPS and a protector of Makgoe. This was also included in the investigation. Both Makgoe and Mdi died in a car crash on the N1 road outside Winburg in March last year.

In her report, Gcaleka said the officials of the Office of the Premier proceeded to evaluate the quotation received from C-Squared despite the quotation including items that were not listed on the specifications of the Request For Quotations (RFQ), which was in contravention of section 45(a) to (d) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
She said the appointment of C-Squared and resultant expenditure was in violation of the provisions of sections 195(a)(b)(f) and 217(1) of the Constitution and in contravention of section 38(1)(a)(iii) of the PFMA and National Treasury Regulation 16A3.2(a).
She said this was because the process was not conducted in accordance with a system that was fair, equitable, transparent and cost-effective as the quotation was not evaluated in terms of the criteria stated in the RFQ.

“The Public Protector takes cognisance that the circumstances under which funeral preparations were to be done required an urgent procurement process. However, it was still incumbent on the Accounting Officer and functionaries of the FSOP (Free State Office of the Premier) to adhere to the standards set out in section 217 of the Constitution read with sections 38(1)(a)(iii), 45(b) of the PFMA and National Treasury Regulations 16A3.2.

“There was no segregation of the functions that were performed by the officials in the drafting of the specifications, the evaluation of the quotations, and the adjudication thereof, in line with the provisions of National Treasury Circular: Implementation of Supply Chain Management, 27 October 2004, which renders the procurement process in violation of section 217 of the Constitution,” read the report.
Gcaleka said even though the funeral policy does not define “reasonable costs”, cognisance must be taken that R5.9 million for a funeral could never have been the intention of the policy.
She said reasonable costs should be understood within the ambit of “funeral undertaker costs including the coffin and limited catering for the family and the official guests”.

Funeral of Late Free State MEC for Education Tate Makgoe.

“In this instance, the functionaries went beyond the same,” said Gcaleka.
She said the conduct of the officials in appointing C-Squared, and the resultant excessive expenditure for the events leading up to and the funeral of Makgoe and Mdi, was improper.

The Free State Premier’s office director of corporate communications, Setjhaba Maphalla, said Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae had seen the report and would study it thoroughly to understand its factual basis and legal implications to assist her to arrive at an informed decision.
He said the Premier intends to comply fully with the time frames set out by the Public Protector, and understands that she has 90 days to take action.

He added that director-general Kopung Ralikontsane has considered the report and does not agree with the conclusions and the findings expressed by the Public Protector.
“The DG is seeking legal advice with the intention to take the report on review to the High Court” said Maphalla.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo said the directorate has been made aware of the existence of the report and has started processes to have it in its possession.
The Office of the Premier has been given 90 days to take disciplinary action against Ralikontsane for failure to execute his duties leading up to the funeral.