Pretoria - The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) in Limpopo has accused Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure head of department Dikgole Seroka of corruption.
According to the union, he participated in “irregular appointments” and “interferes in the procurement of household projects”.
The union also accused Seroka of tampering with tender bid documents. It accused him of helping his favourites win tenders advertised by the department.
They said he had ignored calls by the union warning him.
In a letter written by the department’s union branch secretary Koena Seletisha addressed to Seroka, the union warned that they were aware of the “corruption” in the department.
They vowed to report all the allegations to law enforcement.
The letter reads in part: “We have noted the communication breakdown and the deliberate attempt to render Nehawu head office redundant. We have tried our best to reach out for engagement and solution to the challenges we are confronted with but you chose to give us a cold shoulder.”
The letter included the allegations made against Seroka by the unions.
“We are aware of the allegations circulating in the department that you are interfering in the procurement of household projects under roads and infrastructure where you allegedly instructed the adjudication committee to prepare a memo to appoint number five instead of number one.
“We have been informed that there are bid documents which are allegedly tampered with. We shall wait for the outcome of the appointment of those bids if ever they correspond with the allegations brought to our attention.”
The letter further accused Seroka of interfering with the union’s leadership before its branch elective conference set to take place later this year.
“As current branch leadership we don’t care about your anticipation of ensuring the replacement of the current leadership with your friends who will please you but not serve the interest of workers.
“We will (this week) report all allegations to the law enforcement agencies in Gauteng for reasons known to us before our mandate lapses.”
It’s not the first time the union and Seroka are at loggerheads.
In August 2020 Nehawu reacted with outrage following Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha’s decision to impose a three-month suspension without pay for Seroka, after he was found guilty of having used government funds for his personal needs.
He was accused of using R11 000 of petty cash to buy breakfast, lunches, sweets and drinks for himself at the expense of taxpayers.
Departmental spokesperson Joel Seabi confirmed that the letter had indeed reached Seroka’s office.
He said: “The allegations contained in it are considered to be serious and are receiving the necessary attention.”
Pretoria News