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Jonkers denies guilt Claims he became unpopular in pursuit of discipline
} Boipelo Mere STEVEN JONKERS, the head of the Northern Cape Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, said his efforts of instilling discipline at his department had resulted in him becoming a victim and unpopular. He accused certain people of running to the media and making false, unfounded allegations against him. He spoke at a press briefing called by the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, with the key focus being to give an update on the intra-provincial flight service. The DA had reportedly been raising its eyebrows at the project. Elaborating on what he called a conspiracy before he was charged with fraud by the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court, Jonkers pointed the finger at Patric Mabilo, the former MEC of the department, as being the culprit of all illegal activities within the department. He continued by highlighting that he had become unpopular for being the one who wanted to resolve the learner transport saga where conspiracy had played a role in March 2013. “Steven Jonkers was not involved, but they could see where I was heading (with the investigations). “When we took over the function from the Department of Education there was no compliance regarding roadworthy certificates or liability insurance.” Except for various cases of corruption that he stated he had not been involved in, Jonkers also touched on the issue of the hiring of traffic officers. “Normal processes were followed during the hiring of traffic officers, which was done in September while I was on leave and the submission of the post was signed in my absence. “I found out that most of the hired traffic officers had criminal records, some had no driver’s licences, as was the requirement, and no qualifications.” He said certain officials within the department had been instructed to upgrade and degrade employees without the relevant permission. “We are the only province that did that and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) had to
‘I found out that most of the hired traffic officers had criminal records, some had no driv er ’s licences, as was the require ment, and no qual ifications.’ – Steven Jonkers withdraw the agreements that those people were to be upgraded. “Instilling discipline has always resulted in people running to the media and claiming victimisation. “All I did was to determine the parameters of the, regulations and the act that guide us.” He added that he also had to react to unauthorised salary increases that had been granted to certain officials without the knowledge of the accounting officer. The Phakalane Airways issue that the DA had raised concerns about was also touched on. Jonkers said that accusations of stolen submission from the department was misinformation, raw information, that the DA could not contextualise. ) Visit the Express website at www.express-news to find out what Jonkers said about Phakalane Airways.
STEVEN JONKERS, the head of the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, ad dressing the media. Photo: Boipelo Mere
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