The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) will within 60 days finalise an investigation into whether On-Point Engineering CEO Lesiba Gwangwa had breached its code of conduct in relation to contracts awarded to his company in the Limpopo province.

The probe arises following Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s investigation and report on the unlawful awarding of tenders by the Limpopo government to Gwangwa’s company, through which former ANC Youth League president Julius Malema was found to have benefited “improperly”.

ECSA CEO Dr Oswald Franks told Engineering News Online on Tuesday that Madonsela had referred the case to ECSA last week after an 18-month investigation into the R52-million 2009 tender, which was awarded to On-Point Engineering by the Limpopo Department of Roads and Transport ahead of 15 other bidders.

“We have been asked by the public protector to investigate the conduct of Lesiba Gwangwa who is a registered candidate engineering technologist at ECSA.

“We are in the process of studying the report to determine whether there has been any infringement or violation of the code of conduct for persons registered with ECSA,” Franks explained.

Should Gwangwa be found to be in breach of the code, and depending on the seriousness of the violation, sanctions could range from a reprimand through to a fine, suspension or even withdrawal of registration.

Franks said that ECSA was typically investigating between 50 and 60 cases at any one time.

“We do not think there is any cause for concern in terms of the number of cases we deal with, given the volume of work that is being done out there.”