However‚ a statement by the committee on Friday stated that the department had in their meeting “failed to present a detailed report on the exact amount that was spent for the security upgrades and who was responsible for such arrangements”.
It said that acting department head Poppy Moremi had “admitted before the committee that the department ignored recommendations made by the South African Police Services (SAPS) after an assessment was conducted at the MEC’s private residence‚ as per the ministerial handbook”.
“After receiving recommendations from SAPS‚ we engaged the department of public works and roads to provide cost specifications for security improvements. It was estimated at R128‚398 – but they were never implemented‚” Moremi is quoted as saying in the statement.
The committee claims that instead of doing security upgrades‚ the department went for the costly physical security‚ which Moremi said has been in place since last year.
Moremi revealed to the committee that the quotations for August and September this year amounted to R100‚723.