Lindiwe Sisulu given ’24 hours’ to come clean about water contracts

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has given Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu a day to respond to claims about irregularities regarding deals entered into by her department and contractors.

Clock ticking for Lindiwe Sisulu

Sisulu is accused of overseeing the employment of 19 staffers in the National Rapid Response Task Team (NRRTT), seven of which were apparently hired without submitting resumes. This is said to have been an attempt at aiding her own presidential ambitions by gathering a “political war room” at taxpayers expense.

The DA has urged her to clarify the current status of the employment contracts of these members of the (NRRTT).

“Despite dozens of media enquiries regarding the nature and purpose of the NRRTT, the Minister went to great lengths to defend the appointments as necessary in the execution of the Department of Water and Sanitation’s core work. All claims by the DA that this R13.9 million team was in fact a political campaign team, irregularly appointed as auxiliary to Ministerial staff limit allowances, and remunerated at the taxpayers’ expense, were denied emphatically by Sisulu and dismissed as ‘false and malicious’.”

Democratic Alliance

Presidential ambitions laid bare

The DA says it has been informed that several entities, including the media, have also sought clarity on this matter.

A memorandum issued out in April states that Sisulu had kept quiet despite being aware that members of the NRRTT had been raising money – using the department’s name – to bankroll her 2022 campaign for ANC presidency.

“It is clear that Sisulu is not only seriously compromised politically, but has attempted to execute a sloppy diversionary campaign intent on silencing the furore surrounding her slate of politically aligned appointments to tax-payer funded positions – including Bathabile Dlamini, Menzi Simelane, Mphumzi Mdekazi, 19 alleged political campaigners disguised as NRRTT staffers, amongst other,” the DA said.

“It is further clear that Sisulu has no respect for the integrity of both the media and Members of Parliament, whose core mandates are to provide the public with factual information and hold the Executive to account.”

Democratic Alliance

Sisulu ran for ANC presidency in 2017, alongside the likes of President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cogta Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.