HEADS of Limpopo government departments who failed to adhere to the Public Service Act and Public Finance Management Act - in managing state funds - will know their fate today.

HEADS of Limpopo government departments who failed to adhere to the Public Service Act and Public Finance Management Act - in managing state funds - will know their fate today.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has instructed MECs to take legal action against the administrative bosses for their failure to implement the recommendations made by the auditor-general in 2007.

Among the recommendations were that risk and fraud strategies should be implemented to avoid corruption since officials were allegedly engaged in illegal business activities with their employer.

But none of the departments implemented the decision - which led to officials being able to source unauthorised income amounting to R270million from governmentcontracts.

Lesiba Teffo, a political analyst for the Human Sciences Research Council, said corruption was taking centre stage in the country and that leadership had failed to save the government from the scourge.

MECs have reportedly been consulting with Premier Cassel Mathale and the director-general of the province, Nelly Manzini, to get the green light to act against some heads of departments who failed to adhere to the Public Service Act governance guideline.

Teffo said fighting corruption in government departments would need major political will to act rather than just paying "lip service against corruption".

Sowetan has learnt that health and social development department head Jabu Dlamini and Bigman Maloa, who is head of agriculture, might be suspended this week.

Meanwhile, about 700 government employees might be arrested for doing business with their employer illegally.