The Bega Valley Shire Council is one of the 110 councils and government agencies that the Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating over allegations staff have received gift cards and other items in return for placing orders with several companies that supply industrial, safety and cleaning products.
Hearings into the councils/agencies involved started yesterday, Tuesday October 4 in what is claimed to be the most extensive corruption inquiry the ICAC has undertaken in 20 years.
Yesterday council’s acting general manager, Leanne Barnes, confirmed council’s involvement in answer to an enquiry from the News Weekly.
Mrs Barnes said that eight council staff had been interviewed by an external investigator into alleged acts of corruption following the receipt of a detailed questionnaire on their ordering and procurement procedures from ICAC.
She explained that ICAC had written to the council and advised it was undertaking a state-wide investigation. She said ICAC had notified that there was a couple of council staff members on the list who allegedly had received gift cards sent to their home addresses.
“They (ICAC) handed the matter over to us to investigate and required us to provide them with any further information.
“We undertook an investigation; we used an external investigator and interviewed eight staff and then reported that back to ICAC.”
Read more in this week's Merimbula News Weekly
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