Parliament's administrative head, Zingile Dingani, and its chief financial officer, have been put on special leave following revelations that Dingani allegedly used R186,000 of parliament's money to build a wall around his house.
The Times has learned that Dingani, and chief financial officer Lesley Mondo, are at home waiting for the conclusion of an independent inquiry into the matter.
The Sunday Times reported two weeks ago that Dingani had approached Speaker Max Sisulu to authorise a R186,000 advance for the building of a wall at his house.
He said a risk assessment had been made of his home in the northern Cape Town suburb of Panorama following a security breach, and the state security agencies that made the assessment had recommended the building of a perimeter wall as a security measure.
But it has since emerged that the money was obtained irregularly because parliament does not have a policy of authorising such transactions.
Sisulu has asked the auditor-general to investigate the transaction. He will refer it to the public protector if the A-G is unable to investigate.
Three insiders with intimate knowledge of the situation confirmed that Dingani and Mondo had been suspended.
"Yes, they have been suspended. Parliament was forced to go the independent investigation route because at some point the Speaker will have signed for this thing," said a senior official who refused to be named.
Parliament spokesman Luzuko Jacobs confirmed that Dingani and Mondo were not at work but said they had asked for leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Mondo said he had taken voluntary leave to allow for the investigation to take its course.
"We have indicated that it would be best for us not to be around while the investigation takes place because of the positions we hold.
"I believe that the people who are doing the probe must be given the freedom to do the probe. But the true facts will emerge," he said.
Dingani could not be reached for comment.
The Sunday Times reported that Dingani - who earns R1.8-million a year - obtained money from the national legislature on the grounds that a serious security breach at his home necessitated the building of a perimeter wall.
An amount of R186 0000 was then deposited into the account of Wise Builders, a Cape Town construction company that he selected.
Though some directors-general of government departments, especially those in the security cluster, are provided with housing or protection by the state when they are in office, parliament does not have a policy regulating the protection of its accounting officer. It also does not have clear rules on loans to employees.
When Sisulu discovered that there was no policy regulating security measures at the home of senior parliamentary executives, he ordered that Dingani repay the money. An arrangement was made for R10000 to be deducted each month from Dingani's salary.
But documents obtained by the Sunday Times showed that one of the R10,000 instalments had been refunded to Dingani by parliament's chief financial officer.
Asked to explain why the R10,000 had been redeposited in Dingani's account, Jacobs said that the money had mistakenly been deducted from his salary in December. Deductions were scheduled to begin only in February.
Both the ANC and the DA have called for an independent investigation of the matter.
The two parties are also demanding the creation of a transparent oversight mechanism for parliament - as provided for in the Financial Management of Parliament Act - be expedited.
This could be in the form of an open multiparty committee before which parliament's officials will be required to appear regularly to account for the conduct of the institution's administration and finances.
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