LIMPOPO PUBLIC WORKS CLEAN-UP PUTS CFO MAHLASEDI MHLABANE IN THE SPOTLIGHT AFTER SIU AUDIT

Department Acts On SIU Lifestyle Audit, Moves High Risk Officials From Finance, Including The CFO With A Contested Record 

Ms. Mahlasedi Mhlabane, CFO of Limpopo Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure, under the SIU microscope as the department implements lifestyle audit recommendations and moves high and medium risk officials out of Finance. #LDPWRI #SIU #CleanGovernance_

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.  

AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact

POLOKWANE – The Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure has placed institutional discipline above individual status.

In a media statement dated July 03, 2027, the department confirmed it has begun implementing the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) report on lifestyle audits. The immediate outcome: high and medium risk officials are being moved out of Finance. Among those affected is Chief Financial Officer Mahlasedi Mhlabane, a senior figure whose appointment and past record have already been published by other media houses. 

Forty two supply chain officials were screened. Fifteen were found to be high and medium risk respectively. Twenty seven were at low risk with no significant findings. As part of corrective action, the department is transferring high and medium risk employees from the Finance Directorate to other units. 

The audit was conducted under SCOPA Resolution 9, after committee observations that some officials in Supply Chain Management appeared to live beyond their means. The department has also committed to extend audits to other critical directorates, including Assistant Directors, Deputy Directors, Directors and Chief Directors. 

Mahlasedi Mhlabane is the Chief Financial Officer of Limpopo Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure. Her name is in the public record because other media houses have previously reported on her career path and disciplinary history. 

According to reports by African Times on 09 August 2023, Mhlabane is the former Head of Department for Mpumalanga Education who was suspended for awarding tenders irregularly and for allegedly lying about textbook delivery.

The same reports state that she joined Limpopo Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure as CFO in December 2021. 

Other published records also note that she moved from an Assistant Director level in Mpumalanga directly to CFO and later HOD roles, without having served at Director or Deputy Director level. 

At provincial public accounts hearings in Polokwane, Mhlabane appeared with political and administrative leadership and was questioned on tender irregularities, irregular expenditure and maladministration. That included an item on a R179 million contract awarded to a company whose directors were not tax compliant. 

This is the background that makes the current SIU lifestyle audit and the department’s response a matter of public interest. The CFO is a senior person in the department. The SIU has now flagged risk. The department has now acted. 

The department’s position is clear. It is not protecting personalities. It is protecting systems. 

“As the Department, we accept our responsibility to implement the recommendations that arise from the SIU’s investigations,” the statement reads. “This process is not being approached as a compliance exercise. It forms part of our broader commitment to build a Department that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the people of Limpopo.” 

MEC for Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure Tonny Ernest Rachoene has welcomed the SIU report. The department says where administrative shortcomings are found, internal controls and governance systems are being strengthened. Where disciplinary processes are warranted, they will follow legislative and labour frameworks. Matters for law enforcement will be referred. 

The intervention targets unorthodox trends wherever they exist, including at senior levels. Lifestyle risk is now treated as operational risk. Red flags lead to movement out of sensitive posts. The department is removing exposure, not hiding it. 

That is why the CFO is named here. The public record already names her. Other media houses have published her history. This story is aligning with that record and showing what the department is doing now: audit, identify, act. 

Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure is a delivery department. Roads must be safe. Buildings must be maintained. Money must be spent lawfully. When governance fails, projects stall, contractors are not paid, and communities carry the cost. 

“The people of Limpopo expect a department that delivers roads and public infrastructure efficiently, manages public resources responsibly, and acts decisively when governance failures occur,” the department said. “Those expectations are legitimate, and the department remains committed to meeting them.” 

The standard now is simple and direct. Measure risk without fear or favour. Remove risk from sensitive posts. Extend audits across seniority. Strengthen controls. Apply consequence. 

By moving high and medium risk officials out of Finance, including the CFO with a contested record, the department is sending one message: no one is above accountability, and the public comes first. 

Limpopo Public Works has shifted from silence to action. The SIU did the audit. The department is doing the clean up. The CFO, Mahlasedi Mhlabane, is part of that clean up because she is a senior official flagged by the process and because her history has already been reported by other media houses. 

Governance is now practice, not paper. Potent. Imperative. Public first.