The Government Printing Works (GPW) came under fire for keeping a new printing machine still in a box and not in use for years, and for failing to provide time frames to implement recommendations of a ministerial review committee.
This emerged when the GPW appeared before the home affairs portfolio committee to provide a progress report on the implementation of the recommendation of the ministerial review panel report that was appointed after the GPW’s server crashed in February 2021 and led to the loss of data.
The panel presented its report that covered ICT, human resources, finance, operations and production as well as security services to former minister Aaron Motsoaledi in July 2022 and the entity received the report in September 2022.
Briefing the committee, GPW CEO Alinah Fosi said they have completed 144 out of the 166 recommendations and that 22 recommendations were currently in progress.
Fosi said the benchmarking of GPW’s contracts register was done with reference to the register used by the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Basic Education.
She also said a framework on consequence management was being developed and would be tabled at a management meeting for immediate implementation.
Fosi stated that the supply chain management unit was awaiting recommendations and findings made by the forensic auditor into irregular expenditure.
“A draft report was issued. The report is being considered by legal services.”
In her report, Fosi said progress was affected by the cost containment measures regarding the appointment of a chief information officer and compliance officer, and putting a contingency plan in place until the approved ICT posts were filled, among others.
There would be headhunting for an external ICT expert to assist the ICT panel and advise the CEO on ICT matters.
Fosi also told the MPs that GPW has three types of equipment – those in use, out of use and in the box.
She said the majority of the equipment has been moved from one building to the new headquarters.
However, some of the equipment was more than 20 years old and the original equipment manufacturers have indicated that they were out of sale and warranty.
GPW has started a process to dispose of some of the equipment.
Fosi also revealed that a printing press bought by the then management around 2013 was still in the box.
“As you can imagine it is out of sale, out of warranty and therefore we will have a problem if we put it on the floor because of the time it spent in the box.”
She said the machine was big and they planned to put in another facility where they could use it. “We don’t have a space to put that machine.”
MK Party’s Sihle Ngubane said the GPW has been eluding scrutiny of the committee for a long time.
“This is an institution where our oversight needs to be tightened,” he said.
He said the report presented by Fosi lacked timelines for the implementation of tasks. Ngubane also raised his concern that there was new equipment still in boxes not used.
“Was consequence management done on the person who decided to buy the machine for such long years?
We have seen the scam. People go on a binge of buying things that are not needed.
“They don’t buy for the needs of the organisation but for their appetite, pockets and brown envelopes.”
ANC MP Faith Muthambi decried the lack of time frames in the implementation of the recommendations of the ministerial review panel report.
“We should hasten to implement the recommendations,” she said, pointing out that the report was given to GPW in September 2022.
“There are challenges that are there. There are issues that must be time-bound,” Muthambi said.
“I have difficulties with a report that does not have timelines. One needs to be told what is going to happen, when,” she said.
Committee chairperson Mosa Chabane echoed the same sentiments.
“This report does not outline plans and time frame, which this committee may need to observe,” Chabane said.
Cape Times