Moss Phakoe’s spirit must galvanise us

On March 14 2009, Moss Phakoe – a beloved husband, son, brother and father, a dedicated trade unionist and a committed ANC councillor – was gunned down, aged 52, in his car in Rustenburg as he arrived home after putting up posters for the ANC election campaign.

Moss Phakoe started as a shop steward at the ATC factory in Brits. He was instrumental in establishing the then banned ANC in the region, for which he was brutally assaulted by the Bophuthatswana police. He became an organiser in the National Union of Metalworkers, but prioritised his work in the ANC, becoming a municipal councillor in 2002. He served as a member of the mayoral committee until he was removed three times by Rustenburg’s then mayor, Matthew Wolmarans, for trying to expose corruption. He was a perfect example of what a revolutionary activist should be: serving the people, expecting no personal reward and determined to expose those betraying our liberation movement through crime and corruption, which robs us of services and rots the moral fibre of our society.

This week, more than three years after Phakoe’s brutal assassination, Matthew Wolmarans and his former bodyguard, Enoch Matshaba, were convicted for the murder and sentenced to 20 years in jail and life imprisonment, respectively. MossPhakoe’s tragic story provides a shocking insight into the crisis of crime and corruption in our country. He sacrificed his life for blowing the whistle on corruption in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality in North West.

Just before his assassination, Phakoe handed Wolmarans a dossier that implicated numerous politicians in acts of corruption in the municipality. He also had evidence of fraud in North West drought-relief projects. R33 million had been allocated for drought relief, but none of the money reached the communities in need. Instead, it was siphoned off through companies. Comrade Moss handed documents proving this fraud to the then minister for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Sicelo Shiceka. Shiceka said he gave the documents to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

On the day of his funeral, the then provincial premier, Edna Molewa, said Phakoe’s death was a tragic loss of a loyal servant of the people of North West. She, Shiceka and the SAPS provincial commissioner all gave guarantees that investigations were at an advanced stage and an arrest was imminent. Yet for more than three years, MossPhakoe’s family and Cosatu’s North West provincial secretary, Solly Phetoe, bravely battled to bring the killers to justice. It meant march after march and endless demands that leads be followed up. Phetoe’s untiring efforts in this regard earned him so many enemies Cosatu was forced to hire bodyguards for him. Everything possible was done to delay the police investigation, protect the culprits and keep the truth from the people. Friends of the murderers even mobilised sycophants from the ANC to display the movement’s sacred ANC symbols outside court in support of the killers. Regrettably, those who bussed in these protesters remain members and leaders of the movement.

Allegations remain that others may be implicated in the murder, and Cosatu is continuing to demand the original report Phakoe submitted to be published and the whole truth be uncovered. We also demand the immediate release of a report by the SIU on corruption in 24 municipalities in the North West, which Shiceka promised the Cosatu central executive committee would be handed over but still has not. We need this to ensure those implicated do not go back to their offices to continue corruption.

City Press has reported that since MossPhakoe’s death, even more allegations of fraud and corruption in the province have surfaced, and are being probed by the Hawks. Former Madibeng municipal manager Philemon Mapulane was arrested and charged with fraud and corruption for allegedly receiving bribes for tenders worth R100 million.

Other Madibeng officials have been arrested and charged, and no fewer than 28 cases of fraud and theft involving amounts ranging from R61 000 to R30 million are being investigated. The best memorial to MossPhakoe will be to take forward the crusade he lived and died for – to rid our country of corruption and revive our traditions of selfless service to the people. We must root out the corrupt few who tarnish the image of the many who are decent and honest. Let us hope that all those facing charges of corruption and murder will now face the full force of the law – and that we see no more demonstrations of support for them.

Cosatu is campaigning that in Mangaung the ANC will endorse a call for those facing allegations of murder, rape and corruption to be forced to step aside while investigations take place, and that they only return to their positions once cleared. This is a big move that can help to clean up the image of our movement.

Cosatu has been in the vanguard of the fight to root out corruption. That is why we have set up Corruption Watch. We are determined to track down those hijacking our movement to make money, regardless of their connections, and ensure that they are brought to court and, if found guilty, punished severely. That is why we demand the Protection of State Information Bill. Although much improved, it must still be amended to ensure that officials cannot classify evidence of corruption as “secret” in order to punish whistle-blowers.

Cosatu has also called on the Protected Disclosures Act to be amended. Currently, this provides protection to employees only and excludes other individuals such as independent contractors and suppliers or recipients of services. Nepotism, patronage, corruption and greed are not only destroying the ethic of self-sacrifice and service to the people that has traditionally characterised our revolutionary movement. They are also exacerbating divisions and factionalism, which increasingly are not about ideology, but about access to tenders and contracts.

Leadership contests are now less about political principles than about which faction of which individual will advance business careers and fill bank accounts. The worst problem of all is the emergence of death squads. Political killings are on the rise, in particular in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. If this continues, anyone who speaks out will be silenced, the entire state will be auctioned to the highest bidder and we shall be well on our way to becoming a corrupt banana republic.

We owe it to Comrade Moss Phakoe’s memory to take a stand and say no to corruption.

Source: City Press

In South Africa the Rule of Law Does not Apply to the Political Elite

There is little disagreement that corruption is a serious problem facing South Africa. Unfortunately, various indicators suggest that the problem is getting worse. The annual Transparency Corruptions Perceptions Index is a useful measure of whether corruption is getting better or worse in 182 countries worldwide. Ten points indicate the absence of perceptions of corruption, while 0 means that the country is entirely corrupt. On this scale, in 2011 New Zealand scored closest to ten with a score of 9,5, while Somalia was rated as the most corrupt country in the world with a score of 1. The 2011 index reveals that South Africa registered its lowest score to date of 4,1 points when compared with our highest rating of 5,1 in 2007. Worryingly, we have dropped from 54th place in 2010 to 64th place in 2012 on the world rankings. The surveys from Afrobarometer – a public opinion survey focusing on Africa – have also shown that South Africans are increasingly concerned about corruption. While in 2008, 15% of adults thought that corruption was ‘an important national issue’, by 2011 this had increased to 29%.

In October 2011, the head of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), Willie Hofmeyr, told the National Assembly Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development that corruption involving government procurement was costing South Africa as much as R30 billion each year. To place this in perspective, this amount of money could increase the annual budget of the Department of Basic Education by 20%, the Department of Health by 25% or the entire criminal justice system by 30%. In short, if taxpayers’ money were not being stolen by, or with the connivance of, corrupt government officials and politicians, all South Africans could benefit from substantially more schools, hospitals and police stations staffed with better-paid doctors, teachers and police officers.

It is then fortunate that, officially at least, the government has identified corruption as a serious challenge and has set itself the objective of reducing corruption so as to ‘boost investor trust and willingness to invest in the country’. Towards this end it set the goal of prosecuting and convicting a hundred individuals that are suspected to have corruptly acquired assets worth more than R5 million by 2014. To achieve this the government has established the Anti-Corruption Task Team to coordinate the activities of various investigation agencies and the National Prosecution Authority (NPA). Although Hofmeyr pointed out earlier this year that at least 26 individuals meeting the government’s targeted profile are before the courts on corruption charges, its overall target is too ambitious given the handful of successful convictions achieved in the past few years.

The question is, why is the problem of corruption so large and damaging to South Africa if there is an official government policy to reduce it? The answer lies in examining the extent to which there is political will to take appropriate action against the most politically powerful and connected people.

When an ordinary citizen is alleged to have committed a crime such as corruption, the South African Police Service (SAPS) will identify that person as a suspect in a criminal matter. The SAPS will then use its legally provided investigative powers and resources to gather any evidence that will allow the suspect to be criminally charged and brought before a court. The suspect is given various rights and is entitled to having lawyers test the evidence so as to ensure that it is indeed correct and that the he/she is not being falsely accused. If the evidence is found wanting suspects will be acquitted and if not, may find themselves convicted and sent to prison.

It is the unfortunate reality that politically connected individuals are being protected from criminal justice processes. When Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele was found by the Public Protector to have engaged in conduct that was ‘improper, unlawful and amounted to maladministration’, he was not subjected to a criminal investigation. Rather, his friend and the person who appointed him to his post, President Jacob Zuma, appointed a board of inquiry to look into allegations of corruption and wrongdoing. However, unlike a police investigation, the board of inquiry could not subpoena witnesses, or access cellphone records and bank statements, as was the case in the investigation against convicted ex-SAPS Commissioner Jackie Selebi. The inquiry had no investigative powers and therefore could only consider evidence provided to it by willing parties. The recently leaked inquiry report therefore raised more questions than answers and apparently recommended that a full criminal investigation be undertaken into the matter. If Zuma implements this recommendation, it will be the first example of a senior politically connected person at a national level being subject to such an investigation under his administration.

Disturbing allegations emerged as a result of various investigations by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations Unit (also known as the Hawks), that the Head of SAPS Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant-General Richard Mdluli, and his close colleagues were implicated in a range of crimes including murder, rape, kidnapping, intimidation and wide-scale corruption. It is alleged that the Minister of Police halted all investigations into Mdluli and ordered that he be reinstated. Mdluli was irregularly appointed to his position after a cabinet ministers’ meeting two months after Zuma was sworn in as the President of South Africa. It has been alleged that this was because of Mdluli’s willingness to use his position to support Zuma to stay in power. Indeed, Mdluli has written letters to Zuma that state as much.

That the current acting SAPS National Commissioner Nhlanhla Sibusiso Mkhwanazi has recently re-suspended Mdluli is seen by many as a bold move to reject political interference in police matters, a move that could cost him his position. Current criminal investigations into Mdluli by the Hawks appear to have been taken despite political interference.

More recently we have read of allegations that the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa, irregularly benefited from the Secret Service Account of the SAPS Crime Intelligence Division when R195 581.40 was used for renovations to his private residence. If this allegation is true, it may amount to unlawful conduct as the funds in this account consist of taxpayers’ money to be used for crime intelligence work only. The Minister of Police has denied that he benefited from the Secret Service Account and stated that he had asked the Auditor-General (AG) to investigate. As is the case with the board of inquiry into Cele, the AG does not undertake its work with the intention of gathering evidence to support or refute allegations of misconduct or criminality. Therefore the Minister is safe in the knowledge that he will not automatically be facing any criminal sanction from the AG’s investigation into the allegations against him. All the AG will be able to find with regards to wrongdoing is that money was misspent and recommend that further investigations be undertaken – a recommendation that could be ignored by the Minister, to whom the AG will report on this matter.

If politically connected individuals cannot be held accountable for criminal activity through the criminal justice system, there is little incentive for them to stop engaging in corruption and the problem will continue to worsen. Unfortunately, this appears to be happening as there is no political will to subject politically connected people at the highest levels of government to the criminal justice system when there are allegations of wrongdoing. So no matter how many ordinary people the government throws in jail, our country will continue to suffer the negative effects of corruption of state resources being used to benefit a handful of individuals.

Source: ISS

Buthelezi tackles Zuma on corruption

Warning that corruption was on the verge of making South Africa dysfunctional, IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi told President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday that he was shying away from tackling it. “Corruption is the bane of our country,” he said during debate in the National Assembly on last week's State of the Nation address. Buthelezi described corruption as a fundamental threat to South Africa's constitutional democracy. “Yet, sir, you shy away from this issue.”

He said a measure of Zuma's leadership could be taken less by what the president had said than by what he had not said. “How can we embrace hope when our leadership refuses to acknowledge the many problems confronting our country, or the causes that lie at their root? Year after year, the State of the Nation address shifts, without ever addressing previous failures.” Buthelezi said it was an “unspoken fact” that corruption had resulted in the axing of two ministers - Sicelo Shiceka and Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde. “The national police commissioner, Mr Bheki Cele, is still suspended pending an investigation into corruption. “The Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Ms Peggy Nkonyeni, and MEC Mr Mike Mabuyakhulu are facing corruption charges in court,” he said.

Two of the nine provinces had “all but collapsed” and the administration of the state was “in shambles”. “Limpopo has been rendered bankrupt through corrupt activities and five of its departments have been taken over by national government.” “In the Eastern Cape, the education system has completely collapsed due to maladministration and corruption, forcing national government to intervene.”

In Gauteng, the provincial government had sought help from the National Treasury for its health department, which was on the verge of collapse. The Free State had sought help after discovering financial mismanagement and non-compliance in supply chain processes in its police roads and transport department. “How, Mr President, do we explain the contamination of public service and commercial interests? It is fatal and yet pursued relentlessly from the lowest to the highest levels of government. “Too many, and I dare say the overwhelming majority, are trying to make money on account of holding public office, being in politics or exercising public power.”

Last year, Special Investigating Unit head Willie Hofmeyr told MPs that 20 percent of South Africa's procurement budget was lost to corruption each year. “According to Transparency International's 2011 Corruption Perceptions Index, South Africa is perceived to be becoming more corrupt with each passing year.” This perception was rooted in reality. “On a scale of 0 (being highly corrupt) to 10 (being very clean), we have fallen from a ranking of 5.1 in 2007, to 4.1 in 2011. “The unspoken fact is that we are on the verge of joining the ranks of dysfunctional states, as the effects of corruption debilitate all spheres of life,” Buthelezi said.

The IFP leader, who turns 84 this year, also criticised Zuma for his support, last Thursday, of the South African Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu). “Mr President, you praise the trade unions, and even Sadtu, as if they should be thanked for doing less than the full measure of their destructive capabilities. “Praising the South African Democratic Teachers' Union for its diligent teachers was a step too far in placating the unions.”

The ANC-aligned union continued to act like an organisation “hell-bent on destroying the future of our children”, and should be rebuked, not praised, for its actions, he said, to cries of support from opposition benches. “Instead of acting like responsible educators, some members of Sadtu have, on numerous occasions, proven themselves irresponsible, unprofessional and unfit to educate South Africa's learners.”

Buthelezi also suggested that the ruling party was too close to the country's four major banks. “Another major policy mistake is maintaining the four retail bank policy and tolerating the collusion and other restraints of trade openly practised by our banks.” A lack of “real competition” meant they were not forced to take risks they did not want to take, forcing all the “risky business” onto the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. “It would seem as if your government, Mr President, has a greater commitment to serving the banks than the people we represent.”

On the economy, Buthelezi said Zuma had not explained how two sectors that should be booming as a result of high international demand - agriculture and mining - were “in reverse due to government's many policy failures”. Another unspoken fact was that the latest Global Competitiveness Rankings of the World Economic Forum highlighted how corruption, wasteful expenditure and government red-tape was increasingly hindering business development, SMMEs and investment in South Africa.

Buthelezi said there was a “disconnect” between the government and the reality of everyday life in South Africa. He told Zuma his address had lacked accountability. “It lacked accountability on the crisis in health, the crisis of education and the crisis of corruption. “What you have said looks good on paper, but what you have not said can prevent the fulfilment of the best-laid plans."

Source: IoL

Zuma unleashes SIU on fraud, corruption at Eskom

Over the next three years, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will investigate Eskom's operations for evidence of corruption, fraud or maladministration, by proclamation of the presidency. Key areas of focus identified by the SIU's initial assessment are Eskom's coal procurement and transport services, as well as undisclosed interests held in companies doing business with the parastatal.

The intervention is being made at Eskom's request. "Eskom came to us -- they took the initiative and requested the intervention," said SIU spokesperson Marika Muller. According to Muller, Eskom is the first state-owned enterprise to request such an intervention. While not unheard of -- government departments have in the past made similar requests -- the request is not common.

The proclamation was authorised on Tuesday. It empowers the SIU to use a range of special powers, including ordering people to cooperate with its investigations by producing specific evidence or appearing before the SIU to answer questions under oath. A team of SIU investigators will work with Eskom's in-house forensic team to conduct a systematic check of all Eskom divisions. Any criminality uncovered will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority and the South African Police Service.

After making its initial assessment, and in line with the legislation that governs the way the SIU operates, the unit reported back to the justice ministry and president and recommended that the president authorise a proclamation that would allow it to proceed with a full investigation.

Eskom announced its partnership with the SIU in March last year. At the time, Eskom's chief executive, Brian Dames, said: "We have made it a strategic imperative that Eskom must be a high-performance organisation. Our partnership with the SIU will help us to achieve that." Dames said the move was part of a drive towards greater efficiency and transparency, and that the initiative was in line with Eskom's commitment to stamping out corruption and strengthening governance. He said appropriate action, including criminal prosecution, would be taken should corrupt activities be uncovered.

Chris Yelland, managing director of industry publications company EE Publishers, endorsed the move. "The bottom line is that Eskom can't lose by going into this," he said. "They're taking a proactive stance against corruption even if it is within their own ranks. If something suspicious is found, they'll deal with it which is exactly what the public wants to hear."

In recent years Eskom has suffered an onslaught of setbacks including

* a power crisis and a series of rolling blackouts;
* a breakdown in trust between its board, former chairperson Bobby Godsell and former CEO Jacob Maroga;
* a poor relationship with the media and the public;
* allegations that its coal procurement processes were in shambles and its coal division in a near state of collapse;
* a conflict of interest in a multibillion-rand tender deal involving the ANC's investment arm Chancellor House;
* a major accident at the Duvha power plant which threatened the power supply.

The parastatal has seen something of a turnaround since Dames took over as CEO in mid-2010 and although questions still remain about Eskom's ability to keep the lights burning, there has been during his tenure a greater emphasis on communicating regularly with the public.

Source: Mail & Guardian

SIU probes graft and corruption in Limpopo

The treasury has called on the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to begin probing some of the damning evidence unearthed by central government's intervention force in Limpopo. A letter of understanding was issued by Lungisa Fuzile, the treasury director general, on January 24, paving the way for the investigators to begin their work. Fuzile confirmed the letter to the Mail & Guardian, but said the treasury was "not in a position to comment on the investigation". He referred the M&G to the SIU, which was not prepared to comment.

This is the first time treasury has commissioned the SIU to investigate irregularities in the province. It follows a decision by the Cabinet on December 8 last year to effectively take over the cash-strapped Limpopo government and bring five of its 11 departments under administration. Within weeks of the books being opened, the province was declared bankrupt and a trail of maladministration and gross abuse of public funds uncovered.

It is expected that there will be considerable overlap between the SIU investigation instigated by treasury and the probes that are already under way into the financial affairs and business dealings of ANC Youth League president Julius Malema who, together with his friend and political ally Premier Cassel Mathale, is highly influential in the province. The two have been linked to a string of companies that have been trading off the public purse for a number of years. Last year the M&G revealed how On-Point Engineering, part-owned by Malema, had secured a programme management contract at the provincial transport department through which tenders were doled out to friends and party cronies, as well as to business partners of Mathale. The M&G later exposed attempts on Malema's part to pressurise staff at the local health department to pay out on multimillion-rand contracts that were being investigated for fraud. Both men have also built impressive property portfolios and lived lavish lifestyles that eventually demanded scrutiny.

The SIU has not been given a deadline to complete the latest probe and it is too early to predict what consequences, if any, its findings might have. However, in a recent radio interview, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said "there certainly will be consequences if there is wrongdoing, including putting people through the necessary disciplinary processes or criminal processes".

It first had to be established "whether the evidence really strongly and decisively takes us in that particular direction". Gordhan is due to brief the National Council of Provinces on the intervention and its progress in Parliament on Thursday.

Source: Mail & Guardian

Mabongi Shauwn Mpisane's R176m deal

Mabongi Shauwn Mpisane is demanding the eThekwini municipality honour a secret R176-million housing contract on which it is backtracking. The contract, which never went out to tender, was suspended after the city's legal advisers pointed out that Mabongi Shauwn Mpisane had a criminal record.

Mpisane and her husband, former city policeman Sibusiso Mpisane, are known for their flashy lifestyle and for hosting lavish parties attended by celebrities and high-ranking politicians. Mpisane's company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, of which she is sole director, is also listed in a forensic report on alleged financial irregularities and tender fraud within the municipality. The company has received more than R300-million in housing contracts from the city over the past five years - excluding the one for R176-million - while Mpisane is facing 172 new tax-related charges. And, despite probes into Mpisane and her company by the municipality, the provincial housing department and the SA Revenue Service, in September last year the municipality gave her the contract to build and complete 2114 low-cost homes in Umlazi, south of Durban. Normal tender procedures were not followed and the city suspended the contract after being advised to do so by its legal department.

The Sunday Times has established that Mpisane instructed her lawyers to force the municipality to reverse its decision. In a letter dated December 6 2011 from lawyer Themba Mjoli, the municipality was given a 24-hour deadline to reverse its decision. "Unless you do so immediately ... our instructions are to seek appropriate relief from the high court on an urgent basis," he wrote. This week Mjoli declined to comment, saying he had just returned from holiday and was unaware if the city had responded. Municipal spokesman Thabo Mofokeng failed to answer questions forwarded to him. According to municipal documents, Mpisane's company was hand-picked for the tender by the city's bid adjudication committee in September last year - despite it being tarnished by claims of poor workmanship in several of its projects.

Documents seen by the Sunday Times show that the committee used Section 36 of the procurement policy to bypass the normal public tender route. However, a month later the municipality's legal department objected and, on two separate occasions, warned the committee to reverse its decision. In two scathing letters, legal advisers questioned the selection of Mpisane's company, saying she had been convicted of VAT fraud in 2005. At the time, the company was fined R15000 and Mpisane received a three-year jail term suspended for five years.

The advisers also said the Close Corporations Act prohibited Mpisane from owning a business because of her conviction and sentence. "The amount of public money involved is such that the [committee] is obliged to follow the public tender process, so that council can get value for money," it said.

Housing head Cogi Pather wrote to Mpisane on December 2 explaining their decision to suspend the contract. Mjoli responded: "You are undoubtedly aware that the impugned decision was taken and made arbitrarily and capriciously." The lawyer attacked the municipality for ignoring the cost to Zikhulise of paying "1000 employees" and "18 subcontractors". "On a more serious note, the community, which is currently awaiting being accommodated before the builder's shutdown, is likely to be seriously angered by your impugned decision."

Mjoli also questioned the applicability of the Close Corporations Act in view of the fact that Mpisane's sentence had been suspended. Council minutes show that the tender in question was simply reconfigured from an old deal in 2006 for the construction of 3100 homes in Umlazi. The Mpisanes were then appointed as the main contractors but, after the auditor-general denounced the deal as highly irregular two years ago, work came to a halt. But early last year the provincial human settlements department approved the new, re-jigged contract to finish the work.

In 2010 forensic auditors Ngubane & Co recommended an investigation into Zikhulise and 34 other contractors. Two years ago, the Special Investigating Unit also began a probe of payments linked to a R37-million housing project in Durban's Lamontville township involving Mpisane.

The DA's Tex Collins, who has cried foul over the municipality's procurement practices for years, said: "Clearly all is not well ... any such work [Mpisane's company is involved in] should be stopped immediately for investigation." Mpisane and her husband, meanwhile, spent an estimated R1-million on an Egyptian-themed seventh wedding anniversary in March last year. Guests included socialite Khanyi Mbau, Khulubuse Zuma and May Mkhize, wife of KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize.

Source: Times Live

Cele snubs Public Protector deadline

The Public Protector has threatened to release the preliminary findings on an investigation involving a controversial R500m property deal signed by the police chief General Bheki Cele after the contract was awarded to a billionaire businessman. A clearly disappointed advocate Thuli Madonsela told The New Age yesterday that she had sent her draft report to the SA Police Services (Saps), the Treasury and Public Works Department in early December for comment. But none of the departments had responded to the findings of the Public Protector by Monday, which was the deadline set. “I will go ahead and release the findings to the public if they did not meet my new deadline of January 21,” Madonsela said.

The Public Protector conducted the investigation together with the Special Investigating Unit, headed by Willie Hofmeyr, after a complaint laid by Paul Hoffman, the director of the South African Institute for Accountability.

Madonsela said her investigators have held two interviews with Cele on the procurement processes that were followed in the controversial deal. Asked about the findings against Cele in the report, Madonsela declined to comment further. “I am considering adverse findings against either Public Works or the Saps and my final determination will depend on the information or evidence that may come through from their comments. “We did have a meeting with (Cele) and we discussed broadly the (procurement) process and a few days later we had a lengthy interview with him.”

The Public Protector’s report into the R500m property deal has angered many senior police officials, in particular Cele, who has since appointed Bowman & Gilfillan Attorneys, one of the biggest law firms in the country, to scrutinise Madonsela’s report. According to a senior police source, Cele sought private counsel despite having state attorneys and legal advisors at his disposal. The source indicated that Cele intended to challenge Madonsela’s ruling against the police on the procurement procedures that were followed to clinch the deal. “They’ve now brought in a firm of attorneys and they’ve asked them to bring in senior counsel,” said the source.

Cele signed the deal to move Saps top police brass to businessman Roux Shabangu’s building almost two months before the billionaire bought it. This comes as Nedbank, which is financing the purchase of Middestad building in Pretoria by Shabangu, is considering to pull out of the deal. Nedbank’s Ken Reynolds confirmed yesterday that the bank had asked for a copy of Madonsela’s draft report. But he denied that this was because they wanted to pull out of the property deal. “We are just making sure that whatever investigation that has happened there was nothing irregular (about the deal),” Reynolds said. “We are just covering ourselves. We’ve asked for the report and we have not been given it.” Just weeks after details of the controversial deal were published former Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge announced that the deal had been put on ice to allow for Madonsela and Hofmeyr to investigate.

Cele’s office yesterday said the general’s decision to enlist the services of legal big guns to defend himself against the allegations contained in the report was his constitutional right. “The South African Police Service is entitled, like everyone else, to the best available legal advice,” said Maj-Gen Nonkululeko Mbatha. She said the reason Cele missed the deadline to respond to Madonsela’s report was for him “to give the report adequate and considered scrutiny”. “The public protector has more than four months to compile the report.” she said.

Source: The New Age

Cele landlord faces ruin

PRETORIA businessman Roux Shabangu says he faces financial ruin while investigations into the leasing of his two buildings in the city and in Durban to the SA Police Service continue. Speaking to Sowetan at his offices in Centurion, Shabangu said he was losing R10 million a month while the Special Investigations Unit and Public Protector Thuli Madonsela investigated if there were any irregularities in the leases signed between him and the SAPS.

President Jacob Zuma ordered the investigations last month following a public outcry about General Bheki Cele having authorised the leases - R500 million for the Sanlam Middestad Centre in Pretoria and the Transnet Building in Durban for more than R200 million - without tenders. Shabangu said as far as he was concerned the lease agreements he signed with the Department of Public Works were binding and he would go to court. "There is no turning back. I can't go back to the bank and the seller and say I'm sorry the deal fell through. "The contractors are already on site and have done more than 60 percent of the work. Unfortunately, we could not stop the work. "But how is it possible that all leases are legitimate except mine? This despite the fact that 80 percent of leases signed by the DPW followed the same procedure?" Shabangu asked.

He said he was paying R3 million and R5 million for the bonds. He had also set aside R2 million for renovations. The SAPS were supposed to move in in November. The media-shy billionaire, with interests in property and mining, said the bank was already threatening him with legal action because he could not honour contractual obligations. He said he started negotiating the leases before Cele took over. Shabangu said he met General Hamilton Hlela who told him the police were looking to build their own headquarters and not rent anymore. "After making a presentation to Hlela and his colleagues, he told me he liked it but it had to go through several processes including Department of Public Works. I then went to the seller and paid a deposit of R1 million before I even signed the deeds of sale," he said.

The Sunday Times reported last month that Shabangu had bought the property shortly before it was leased by the department for the police. He said he bought the building in April and the lease was signed on July 20 between the lawyers of the department and Roux Property Fund. On July 26 the department confirmed that everything was above board. It reads: "This letter serves to confirm that the Department of Public Works has complied with all the internal processes..." But on August 10 he received another letter from the department's director-general Siviwe Dongwana stating the lease had been suspended pending an investigation. "The department now has reason to believe that not all the procurement processes were followed," says part of the letter.

Shabangu said the department could not reverse the process. "That could be a serious legal issue and a financial disaster on the department's side because they entered into a legal and binding agreement with the Roux Property Fund," he said.

Source: The Sowetan

Cele lied, say his generals

Police generals hit back at national commissioner Bheki Cele yesterday after he linked them to corrupt procurement deals in parliament. General Cele told MPs on Friday that generals Stefanus Terblanche, Matthews Siwundla and Hamilton Hlela had suddenly resigned after he had asked Willie Hofmeyr's Special Investigating Unit to probe suspect deals worth billions approved by their supply chain unit since 2006.

But at least one of the generals says Cele forced him out because he had refused to follow his orders to approve dodgy office deals worth over R700-million in the past three months. Terblanche and Hlela yesterday confirmed that Cele personally led the drive to relocate the SAPS national and provincial headquarters in Pretoria and Durban for a total cost to taxpayers of R760-million - providing documents to support their claims. Correspondence shows that SAPS and public works officials questioned the need for the moves. The SAPS finance section warned in June that its budget was already exhausted and budgets for other policing "priorities" - such "tactical response teams" and "provincial war rooms" - may have to be stripped to fund the dodgy leases.

Terblanche - who headed the SAPS property division until he was suddenly called in and offered early retirement, he said - told the Sunday Times that Cele had misled parliament when he told MPs his (Cele's) role had ended with identifying the police's accommodation needs, and that he had left the rest up to the Department of Public Works. This minimal - and blameless - role in leasing a new headquarters building without going to tender is how Cele described his involvement after the deals were exposed by the Sunday Times. Terblanche's version of events is supported by documents seen by the Sunday Times. They show that Cele signed off a public works cost approval for R520-million for a 10-year lease for the police's new Pretoria headquarters and a preliminary cost analysis for a four-year lease for the Durban headquarters.

The documents show Cele approved the SAPS's paying R4.7-million a month for a building Transnet said had been sold on August 4 for less than R40-million. Yesterday Hlela said Cele had asked him to lease this building for 10 years. Both Terblanche and Hlela said they had been unaware of questions raised about their alleged involvement in supply chain irregularities until Cele raised the issue in parliament. "I only learnt about this in the media yesterday - it was never discussed with us," Terblanche said. "I have nothing to hide. If Cele was aware of this gross corruption, I should have been suspended - and if they could prove a prima facie case, I must be charged with that. Instead, I got a golden handshake."

Cele had personally approved his package days after Terblanche refused to sign authorisation for the Pretoria and Durban leases, he said. "I wasn't convinced we needed that space and I shared my concerns with my immediate superior, General Hlela," said Terblanche. Hlela said Cele was pushing people around to make sure the SAPS moved into the new offices in Pretoria and Durban. "Cele initially gave me verbal instructions on March 24 this year to look at moving the SAPS top brass into Sanlam Centre. The police culture is not to question your seniors, so I never asked the general about it."

The move to the two new buildings was not advertised, he said. "Cele didn't test the building market for other suitable and available buildings, he just wanted us to move (to the buildings)." Hlela also denied having resigned. "General Cele lied to parliament. I didn't resign, but he offered me a golden handshake, I have a letter with me that he signed. I have been with the SAPS for 30 years but I can tell you now that my approval was done (within) an hour." Documents support Hlela and Terblanche's insistence that Cele was directly involved in authorising the dodgy leases, which never went out to tender as required by Treasury rules.

A letter written by finance head Lieutenant-General SJP Schutte on June 8, 2010, to the SAPS supply chain management divisional commissioner points out that the department was short of the funds required to sign a new lease in Durban because Cele had "personally indicated and approved the relocation of the Office of the National Commissioner to another building" (in Pretoria). A procurement instruction from public works also points out Cele himself had "identified" the Transnet-owned building as suitable for the new SAPS headquarters in Durban.

In correspondence seen by the Sunday Times, a public works official notes with "grave concern" that the SAPS had identified the Transnet building itself rather than going out to tender. "It must be (questioned) as to whether SAPS have, by acting outside of their mandate, not created expectations. Failure to meet such expectations can possibly further result in severe negative consequences to the state as a whole."

The SAPS's Durban headquarters accommodation needs should follow "due processes and be advertised in the open market for a realistic comparison as to the market trends", the official says. The need for Durban's headquarters to almost treble in size -from 13368m² to the new 45499m² headquarters - also raised eyebrows. The SAPS needs assessment signed by Cele and KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Monnye Ngobeni on June 22 says the space is needed to relocate the family violence, child protection, sexual offences, and crime intelligence units from Inanda, Phoenix, Durban Central, Brighton Beach, Umlazi, Chatsworth, Pinetown and Chatsworth to the new building. Schutte's letter questions why these services should be moved "away from communities". "An important aspect thus entails how was the need established, and is the extent of the need justified in relation to other priorities and costs," he concludes.

Colonel Lindela Mashigo said Cele's office undertook to respond to detailed questions but had failed to do so by the time of going to press. Cele's spokesman, Nonkululeko Mbhata, said the department had answered all relevant questions during the parliamentary hearing on Friday. Hlela, Terreblanche and Sivundla had resigned from the SAPS and most of these issues were under investigation, she said. Cele phoned the Sunday Times complaining he was being ambushed because he had not been given sufficient time to answer questions put to his staff.

Source: Times Live

Can Cele stop SAPS rot?

A secret document intercepted by the SA police in London alerted National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele to the imminent outsourcing of the entire police forensics unit. "There was a huge document of completely outsourcing the department", he told Parliament yesterday. "A whole department? if we didn't find the document there would be no police forensics."

Cele said the document was signed on his behalf. This was one of several bombshells dropped by Cele before the National Assembly's police committee, where he and other top officials were called to explain ongoing supply chain management problems at the SA Police Force (SAPS). It comes after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe was instituted into the allegations of R4-billion in corrupt tenders in both the SAPS and in the Public Works Department, a Public Protector's probe into the media reports of a second R500-million police headquarters leased on a dodgy tender and the recent resignation of Cele's deputy, the divisional commissioner of supply management unit, Lieutenant-General Hamilton Hlela and two of his subordinates, Lieutenant-General Matthews Siwundla and his subordinate, Major-General Stephanus Terblanche.

Cele said the head of forensics has also since resigned, while his replacement had already fired five staff members. A range of corrupt activities are under the microscope. He told a story of extraordinary shenanigans in tender procedures and rampant outsourcing, which left the police virtually without internal capacity with several dodgy deals placed before him to sign in a hurry without due explanation, allegedly by Hlela, shortly after he took office a year ago. He said he was almost made to sign off on a R4bn private-public partnership deal to build a massive new headquarters in Pretoria, but refused. He also refused to sign a contract for the upgrade of his and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa's offices, even though the police were renting the building. He later found out that the lease on the current headquarters had been extended for 10 years, without his knowledge. While Cele painted himself as innocent, he revealed a sordid picture of a disabled SAPS with management and command and control systems, supply chain management, special projects all but collapsed.

The general also indicated that this may be the tip of the iceberg. MPs called the situation "the highest form of mismanagement", "disgusting", "shocking" and "discouraging". Cele said that if Parliament was a court, he would have had "to plead guilty", stressing that one year in the saddle was not enough to clean up "the mess". He called in the SIU in November last year after another contract was discovered which had been signed without his approval - this time for the manufacture of shirts for the police force.

Hlela yesterday denied that he had put any dodgy contracts before Cele. For instance, he said that the contract for the new R4bn headquarters had been signed off on by Cele's predecessor, Jackie Selebi. "He threw it out", said Hlela. MPs were concerned that the SAPS was poised to sign an agreement with Public Works to hand over its maintenance role of police properties to the SAPS, while it had no capacity. The police had a R13bn backlog in its own maintenance responsibilities, while some police stations being built since 2001 are yet to be completed.

The commissioner admitted frankly that much of the SAPS capacity had dwindled because many of the services had been outsourced. "Even our small capacity is arrested", he said. "For example, we have 34 bricklayers in SAPS, but they are not allowed to lay a brick. The work is given to brokers. There is a very popular broker in the (supply chain) department, Midway Two. The cost escalations come from there. It is a mad situation. That is why we have no capacity."

Gary Kruser, the new acting deputy commissioner in the supply chain management division, said Midway Two had won a host of tenders from the department. "We have an example where the cleaning services is done by the same company which owns the mechanics, building services and the same people who've got the Tetra network tenders (a R1 billion contract for an upgrade of Eastern Cape digital two-way radio systems). The same shareholders? all from the same company," he said. "I don't know how someone can be so efficient that they get all the tenders? I think we also need to have regular intelligence integrity checks on people to ensure integrity in tenders? I think not enough to have regulatory processes."

Public Works Department officials also stressed that the SIU investigation was drawing to a close and would feed into the Public Protector's report on the lease of the new headquarters. It is understood that the report will be completed by the middle of the month.

Source: IoL

‘Cele doesn’t need new HQ’

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has said there is no need for the police to lease an 18-storey building to house its headquarters, despite National Commissioner General Bheki Cele having signed a needs assessment which said it was necessary. The controversial R500 million lease agreement for the building in central Pretoria has been put on ice, as has another for new police headquarters in Durban, due to probes by the Public Protector and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Mthethwa – answering questions in the National Assembly yesterday – also would not link last week’s resignation of the deputy national police commissioner to a probe into tender procedures in the police. The statements followed persistent speculation that Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika’s arrest a month ago was linked to his exposé, days earlier, of alleged irregularities in the rental deal for the Pretoria building.

Cele’s deputy, Lieutenant- General Hamilton Hlela, and two of his subordinates resigned shortly after President Jacob Zuma proclaimed an SIU investigation into supply chain management at the SAPS and its building services division. Asked by Cope MP Leonard Ramatlakane whether procurement policies and tender requirements had been complied with relating to the 18-storey Sanlam Middestad building in Pretoria, the minister replied: “This is the responsibility of the Public Works Department. The SAPS identifies its accommodation needs by means assessment.” Pressed by Freedom Front Plus MP Pieter Groenewald about the need for a second headquarters for police, Mthethwa said: “There is no need for such an 18-storey building.”

However, Mthethwa later said the need for a bigger headquarters had been raised with MPs last year, along with the possibility of having one built. Asked for clarification, the minister’s parliamentary officer, Siyazi Tyatyam, said the Public Works Department had since been asked to look at alternatives, but that had been put on ice until the SIU investigation had been completed.

Groenewald said he was surprised the minister stated was no need for the building. “Why does public works then go and hire one based on a needs assessment of the police, when the minister says they don’t need a building that size? That is a very interesting response,” he said.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had indicated her preliminary report would be ready by the middle of this month, Groenewald said.

Source: IoL

Police new HQ building lease on hold

The lease transaction to rent another building for R500 million for a police head office in Pretoria has been put on hold, public works minister Geoff Doidge said on Tuesday.

On August 2, the FF Plus asked Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate the public works department and Police Commissioner Bheki Cele's rental contract for buildings owned by Roux Shabangu.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Doidge said when the 2008/09 audit report was released last year, the department held a press briefing to brief the media on the work it was doing in reviewing its supply chain management processes. And in particular, the department's entire lease portfolio. More recently, and concurrent to the department's own work in this regard, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was also conducting a broader investigation, which included the department's lease portfolio, he said. "Further to this, the Office of the Public Protector has served the department of public works with a communique requesting specific information regarding this specific case for the purpose of its own separate investigation." Consequently, the implementation of the lease in question was being "held in abeyance to allow space for the processes of all these investigations to be proceeded with", Doidge said.

In a statement later, FF Plus spokesman Pieter Groenewald welcomed the move. "The fact that the Minister has put this contract on hold is welcomed." The FF Plus asked Madonsela to not only investigate the contravention of rules and regulations regarding tenders, but to also to investigate whether a second building, which had to serve as another police head office, was really needed. "A second building is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money. The R500 million could rather have been used to appoint more police members and increase visible policing," Groenewald said. He told Sapa Madonsela had indicated she would conclude her investigation as early as September.

The Sunday Times reported on August 1, that Cele signed the deal to move the police's top brass - including Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa - to Shabangu's 18-storey building almost two months before he bought it. The newspaper said the deal never went out to tender, in breach of Treasury regulations that all contracts over R500,000 must go through a competitive bid process.

Source: IoL

Sweeping probe of state corruption

THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has announced the largest government investigation yet into tender fraud and corruption in seven state departments, including the South African Police Service (SAPS) The probe, announced yesterday, follows persistent complaints about corruption and tender fraud in the government.

In addition to the police, the departments of public works, arts and culture, human settlements, the Gauteng health department and the Eastern Cape education department will be probed. The South African Social Security Agency, which distributes social grants, is also being investigated. The probes started in May. Each investigation will be staffed by a “substantial team” of forensic investigators, lawyers, accountants and analysts, the Presidency said.

The probe of the Department of Public Works department was described as one of the biggest by the SIU. The investigation will mainly focus on procurement, including numerous leases the department negotiated for client departments, “many of which involve significant amounts”.

Recent media reports alleged misconduct over a proposed R500m contract to lease new office space for the police. President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman, Zizi Kodwa, denied there was any connection with the announced probe, saying the investigation had long been requested by the leadership of the police, under Gen Bheki Cele. Mr Kodwa said the probe reflected the Zuma government’s commitment to fighting corruption. “It has long been coming … but you don’t want to do this in a rush … it must be based on fact.” The Presidency said the SIU’s investigation of the SAPS originated from a referral by the Independent Complaints Directorate, the police watchdog body.

The arts and culture investigation will include under-spending or misspending on World Cup projects dating back to the 2007 financial year. The unit has previously looked into housing tenders and social grant fraud. A director of the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa, Paul Hoffman, yesterday described the probe as the strongest action against corruption by the Zuma administration to date. “Taken at face value this is the biggest step against corruption,” he said. However, Mr Hoffman said it is noteworthy that Mr Zuma has not asked the Hawks to lead the probe. The unit was established after the Scorpions were disbanded last year. “It’s the perfect sort of investigation that the Scorpions were trained, organised and set up to carry out,” he said. Mr Hoffman also questioned whether the SIU has the capacity for what appears to be a major investigation. “I think the SIU is overworked already and misses the backup it got from the Scorpions.”

The SIU said all investigations are at an early stage. While it has the technical skills needed, an increase in its workload necessitated the need for more staff. “The SIU has embarked on a large recruitment drive to ensure that it can deliver on all the investigations,” a representative said.

Source: Business Day

Zuma Orders Major Public Service Probe

President Jacob Zuma has ordered the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate supply chain related concerns in a number of government departments, the Presidency announced on Thursday. It said the affected departments were the Department of Health in Gauteng, Human Settlements, Department of Arts and Culture, Department of Education in the Eastern Cape, Department of Public Works, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the South African Police Service.

The Presidency said while Zuma was not pre-judging the investigations, the announcement was "a clear indication" of the President and Cabinet's stated resolve to combat corruption, mismanagement and maladministration at all levels of Government and the public service. "The SIU has started detailed investigations into these matters, and is treating them as ones of extremely high priority. Each investigation will be staffed by a substantial team of forensic investigators, lawyers, accountants and analysts," it said.

In each case, the relevant ministries and departments were cooperating fully with the investigations, and will continue to do so going forward as they want solutions. Some ministers have requested the President to assist them towards eradicating corruption and maladministration in their departments. Zuma wants the SIU to probe, among other things, the under-spending or misspending of the Department of Arts' budget in respect of the amounts voted for the purpose of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Projects for 2007, 2008 and 2009 financial years.

The failure by officials of the department to ensure that transfers and subsidies to beneficiaries in terms of the Department's Arts and Culture in Society Programme, the 2010 FIFA World Cup projects, the investing in culture programme and the cultural development programme were applied for their intended purposes. Minister Lulu Xingwana has already taken disciplinary action against a number of departmental staff. A special focus for the SIU will be the recovery of funds, as well as ensuring proper accountability for any irregular expenditure that may be found.

The unit will also need to establish if there were any irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the department in respect of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Projects, the Investing and Culture Programme and the Cultural Development Programme. The Department of Public Works investigation will be one of the biggest ever launched by the SIU, and will focus primarily on procurement within the department - including the assessment of numerous leases negotiated by the department for and on behalf of client departments, some of which involve significant amounts. "The investigation originates in a request from the Minister of Public Works that the SIU assist in addressing serious concerns he had regarding procurement processes in the Department. Extract from the Department of Public Works Proclamation which can be found in full in Government Gazette of 30 July 2010 No 33425," the Presidency said.

The investigators will also look on procurement of goods or services by or on behalf of the Eastern Cape Department of Education and payments made in respect thereof while procurement procedures will be investigated within the South African Police Service.

The Presidency said the SIU intervention in the SAPS originates from a referral by the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) and has received the full support of the National Commissioner of Police, who is committed to ensuring that procurement within the SAPS is undertaken in a clear and transparent manner and in accordance with the necessary Supply Chain Management prescripts. The SIU has been working with the Department of Social Development and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) for several years to investigate a number of issues, especially irregularities pertaining to social grants. The probes are conducted on, among others, unlawful and illegal payment and/or receipts of social grants or benefits in respect of deceased and/or fictitious persons.

Source: All Africa

Cele's dodgy R500m deal likely to face two probes

A R500-million deal to move police top brass to a building owned by a politically connected billionaire - without a public tender process - is likely to face two probes. The Public Protector's office this week confirmed it was investigating the lease, while the corruption-busting Special Investigating Unit has launched one of its "biggest ever" probes into irregular government leases worth billions of rands.

The deal - exposed by the Sunday Times last week - will involve moving police headquarters to a building owned by Roux Shabangu at a cost to taxpayers of over R500-million, without following normal tender procedures; it is expected to form part of the SIU probe. The SIU would neither confirm nor deny this, saying it was probing possible irregularities in "numerous leases negotiated by DPW (the Department of Public Works) ... some of which involve significant amounts". The SIU is an elite unit that fights corruption through forensic investigations and follows up with litigation to retrieve public funds.

Both Shabangu and police chief General Bheki Cele, who signed off on the proposed financial terms of the deal, sent threatening letters to the Sunday Times this week in an apparent bid to gag the newspaper from publishing further details of the dodgy deal - which has raised eyebrows not only due to the lack of a tender, but also because the SAPS signed a 10-year lease with Shabangu while it still has a 10-year lease on its existing head office, Wachthuis. The SIU said the investigation into government leases was sparked by a request from the minister of public works, Geoff Doidge, to look into "serious concerns he had regarding procurement processes in the department", a spokesman said on Friday. "The Department of Public Works investigation will be one of the biggest ever launched by the SIU," the spokesman said.

This week Public Protector Thuli Madonsela launched an investigation into the SAPS lease, responding to a complaint lodged by the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa. "I hope to be in a position to issue my report at the beginning of September," she said in a letter sent to the institute on Tuesday.

Shabangu was not involved in any "underhanded dealings" in clinching the deal, his lawyer, Natalie Visagie, said on Friday. "My client had no interaction or contact with Cele at all. The allegation that Cele signed the lease is completely false. "The building was sold to my client and it was a condition of the sale that my client would obtain SAPS as a lessee."

Although Shabangu initially denied his political connections, his lawyer said that "President (Jacob) Zuma is a friend of long standing of my client", but insisted "to the best of my client's knowledge, Zuma did not bring to bear any political influence (on awarding the lease)". Cele, meanwhile, has insisted that the Department of Public Works had exonerated him of any wrongdoing by pointing out that the lease did not need to go out to tender because it was a negotiated contract. He also said it was "misleading" and "incorrect" to say he had clinched the deal with Shabangu. Cele said he simply signed a "needs assessment" because the SAPS headquarters "was not big enough for it to carry out its administrative functions". "With that his role as the accounting officer of the SAPS ended," his office said. "The Department of Public Works then took over the process."

But documents in the Sunday Times's possession show that on June 1 Cele signed off on the proposed financial terms of the lease. The documents, while not the final lease issued, consist of an offer document headed "Agreement of Lease" containing Shabangu's detailed proposed rentals, and a document signed off by Cele entitled "Actual cost calculations: leasing of properties to accommodate government departments", largely reflecting the same numbers.

This week neither public works nor the SAPS could adequately explain why the R500-million deal did not go out to public tender - as required by Treasury rules. The rules require all government contracts over R500000 to go through a competitive bid process. If a service is needed really urgently, departments are allowed to negotiate directly with a contractor. But only if they've given good reasons, which must be as a result of unforeseen circumstances, including "a catastrophic event".

A government official familiar with tender compliance rules, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said contracts were typically negotiated directly only after an open bidding process had failed to produce a suitable candidate. Accommodation crunches caused by bad planning would result in short-term emergency solutions - not 10-year leases, he said. "On what basis is the relocation of an entire building urgent? You don't have to move 500 people quickly. Where is the case for urgency?"

Attempts to get answers from public works proved fruitless. "I don't want to talk to the Sunday Times ever again," shouted spokesman Lucky Nchalibane, referring all queries to special projects deputy director-general Mandla Mabuza. But Mabuza failed to explain why the department decided not to follow normal tender procedures.

This week Cele's office also refused to supply reasons why the move was deemed so urgent it warranted dispensing with normal tender processes, or documents to support his claims, including the needs assessment he claimed was the last document he signed. "After an appropriate apology, retraction and correction are published, we will consider whether to make available to you the information that has been requested," said a Major-General Julius Molefe. "In the circumstances you leave General Cele with no option but to seek proper redress through other means provided by the law."

Visagie also threatened to hold the Sunday Times liable for any damages suffered by Shabangu, if another deal he was planning to clinch with the SAPS - for renting a building in Durban - fell through because of negative publicity.

Source: Times Live

Cape Town's R67m World Cup tender fraud

Alleged fraud linked to 2010 World Cup tenders amounting to tens of millions of rands is behind the arrest on Friday of municipal officials in Stellenbosch, a senior official revealed on Sunday. And more officials are to be arrested soon as the investigation by the elite Hawks unit is widened to include more Boland municipalities.

The five former officials, who include an ex-mayor and an ex-deputy mayor, are to make their first court appearance in Stellenbosch on Monday. The Cape Times has also learnt that one of the accused has turned state witness and will provide the state with vital information. The group was held by the Hawks in Khayamnandi on Friday, after a seven-month investigation. Stellenbosch mayor Cyril Jooste said the arrests were linked to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation into a number of municipalities across the province. The men, aged between 36 and 58, previously held positions in the Stellenbosch Municipality. "There is an SIU investigation that is still ongoing. The arrests are linked to that investigation. I can also confirm that a previous executive mayor and ex-deputy as well as three other officials were arrested by the Hawks," said Jooste.

It is understood that the arrests are linked to nine sites that are being erected as viewing parks. "We do expect more arrests. It (the tender) is about R67 million. We are busy working very hard with the SIU and the police. We even gave them a room in the municipality building to work from," said Jooste.

Local Government MEC Anton Bredell welcomed the arrests, saying it was sad that community leaders had been arrested for fraud. On Sunday Bredell told the Cape Times that more people would be brought to book at the other municipalities under investigation. These included Theewaterskloof, Witzenberg, Bitou, Stellenbosch and Oudtshoorn. Bredell said his department was committed to bringing back discipline to councils throughout the province and to stamping out corruption. He said his office had initially asked the Hawks to investigate the municipality.

Police spokesman Colonel Billy Jones said the Hawks launched the investigation in October when the allegations were initially reported to the police. "Details of the alleged modus operandi and the investigation will only be revealed when presented as evidence in court," he said.

The embattled municipality is also busy dealing with nine ANC councillors who were hauled before a full council two weeks ago to face expulsion because they had allegedly breached the code of conduct for councillors. The councillors failed to attend three consecutive council meetings. The councillors' absence from meetings had delayed the passing of the municipality's budget.The council recommended that the nine councillors be expelled. "That's a totally different issue," said Bredell. "All I can say is I will treat them fairly. I will be getting independent legal opinion on the matter."

The ANC has 17 of 37 seats while the DA and other smaller parties make up the rest in a council which has had three mayors in as many years. Alleged corruption in World Cup related tenders is not confined to Stellenbosch. In Nelspruit, Mbombela Municipality speaker Jimmy Mohlala Mohlala was shot dead outside his home in KaNyamazane last year, a week before he was due to testify in the disciplinary hearing of former municipal manager Jacob Dladla, who had been accused of financial mismanagement of the World Cup stadium project.

Source: IoL

Menzi guts the NPA

Menzi Simelane, the national director of public prosecutions, has “totally dismantled” the successful Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU), say well-placed sources, and removed and redeployed its head, advocate Chris Jordaan SC.

The acclaimed Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) almost went the same way during restructuring by Simelane, said the sources, and its head, Willie Hofmeyr, kept his post only because Justice Minister Jeff Radebe intervened last week.

Hofmeyr is deputy national prosecutions director and head of the independent statutory Special Investigations Unit. Jordaan had been with the SCCU since its inception in 1999.

Simelane has claimed that the restructuring is to promote service delivery, but the commercial crime unit’s conviction rate has never fallen below 92%.

Morale is said to be plummeting at the national prosecuting authority (NPA) and many senior staff are hunting for jobs elsewhere. About 16 legal figures have received notices that they are to be redeployed.

NPA sources said the restructuring of the SCCU was “already done and dusted” by the time Radebe intervened.

From April 1 the SCCU’s name has been changed to the Commercial Crime Component (CCC). Although there used to be a national reporting structure, the unit no longer has a head and its regional offices now report to the provincial directorates of public prosecutions.

It has been split into two, one section dealing with complex commercial-crime cases and the other with “run-of-the mill” cases and general litigation.

Sources complained that the restructuring was ill-conceived and had placed a heavy burden on those responsible for general litigation because there were too few staff.

‘Why has it been split?’

“It’s a practical question. Why was the commercial crime unit not left alone? Why has it been split?” said an official close to the developments, who asked not to be named. “If it’s not broken, why fix it?”

Jordaan has been moved to the NPA’s Pretoria offices and has apparently been unofficially told that he will now be the national coordinator of commercial crime. But sources said he no longer has contact with the unit.

The Mail & Guardian has also learned that Simelane has told Hofmeyr to choose between heading the AFU or the SIU.

NPA sources said they felt Simelane was hell-bent on purging senior managers and implementing restructuring plans at breakneck speed. They described him as a “terrible manager” who had been dogged by controversy since President Jacob Zuma appointed him in December and expressed grave concern about the motivation for the restructuring.

Worries about his leadership peaked in March after he ordered the AFU not to try to seize millions of rands in alleged bribes from arms multinational BAE Systems, held offshore by arms-deal kingpin Fana Hlongwane.

Three weeks ago opposition parties raised strong objections to a five-year NPA strategic plan tabled in Parliament. The plan stated that the AFU had been disbanded and was included as a division in the regional offices.

This week Simelane told the M&G the clause in the “draft strategic plan was an unfortunate drafting error”.

On why he had not consulted Radebe, he said the document had not been finalised.

‘NPA needs to transform itself’

Questioned on the purpose of restructuring, he said: “Your questions seem to suggest that the NPA is fully transformed and therefore there is no longer a need. The idea is furtherest from the truth. To reiterate—the NPA needs to transform itself to meet the needs of society in contributing to the criminal justice system, with a view of enhancing public confidence.

“The structure is being streamlined to ensure a focus on core functions, with experienced prosecutors utilised in the delivery of core services. The aim is to show significant improvement to service delivery.”

Radebe’s spokesperson, Tlali Tlali, said Simelane had explained to the minister that he told Parliament’s justice committee that the strategic plan still needed ministerial approval.

“The minister accepted the national director of public prosecution’s explanation and the bringing of disciplinary proceedings did not arise,” he said.

But sources said there was “guerrilla warfare” at the NPA. Manie de Clercq of the Public Servants’ Association said plans to redeploy three senior NPA advocates appeared to have been put on hold.

“But we haven’t received anything in writing from NPA to say it has withdrawn the redeployments, so we’ll still go through the process of conciliation,” said De Clercq.

Who would have an issue?

South Africa has won international recognition for the way it has implemented the forfeiture of proceeds from crime, so well-placed criminal justice sources insist that there must be hidden agendas behind the “bizarre” schemes to close the old Asset Forfeiture Unit.
AFU figures for 2009-2010 show:

The value of new restraints—orders for the freezing of physical assets and cash—was R491-million;
The value of confiscation or forfeiture orders was R184,7-million;
The value of deposits into the criminal assets recovery account was R51,7-million; and
Orders in favour of the victims of crime amounted to R52,3-million.

The AFU has been involved in many high-profile cases, including:

The David King tax fraud case, in which court orders were secured in the United Kingdom and Guernsey to freeze accounts of millions of rands that King allegedly removed from South Africa;
The Jabulani Mabaso corruption case, in which assets of R191-million were frozen. The state alleges he defrauded the KwaZulu-Natal education department of R200-million; and
The Schabir Shaik graft case, in which assets of R41-million were frozen.

Source: Mail & Guardian

Media statement on special leave granted to the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Social Security Agency

Social Development Minister, Mrs Edna Molewa, will soon make a decision on the future of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Mr Fezile Makiwane. This follows receipt by Minister Molewa of the report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) about the investigation pertaining to alleged flouting of the rules pertaining to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and irregular procurement processes by Mr Makiwane in his capacity as the CEO of SASSA.

In July 2009 Minister Molewa and Mr Makiwane mutually agreed on Mr Makiwane taking special leave pending an investigation by the SIU involving 11 transactions.

"As required by law, yesterday, 7 December 2009, I gave the report to Mr Makiwane to allow him an opportunity to respond to the findings. He has until the 18 December to respond, after which I will study his response and announce my decision to the public" Minister Molewa said.

Mr Coceko Pakade who is Chief Financial Officer for the National Department of Social Development has been acting as SASSA CEO since Mr Makiwane went on special leave, and service delivery has not been negatively affected.

Source: Department of Social Development

Prisons graft: Bosasa's empire of influence

The company at the centre of South Africa’s prison corruption scandal is closely connected to powerful individuals on the political landscape, including the country’s new spy boss, Gibson Njenje. A number of them were also close to Thabo Mbeki’s presidency.

Bosasa Operations, exposed this week in Parliament for allegedly bribing top prison officials to secure contracts worth more than R1,7-billion, makes a killing from government business. This includes work for the departments of correctional services, justice, home affairs, transport and the provincial governments of Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Bosasa’s chief executive, Gavin Watson, has close links with the governing ANC through his family’s anti-apartheid struggle credentials and his brothers’ post-1994 business interests. Njenje is a founding member of Bosasa Operations and was a director of the company before being appointed head of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in ­October.

A number of people benefiting from Bosasa contracts or linked to Watson and his family had links to Mbeki’s office, including the ex-president’s political adviser, Titus Mafolo, and Mbeki’s head of office, Lorato Phalatse, who is married to former Strategic Fuel Fund chairperson Seth Phalatse. Watson’s brother, Valence, is the chief executive of Vulisango Holdings, the empowerment partner of controversial mining firm Simmer & Jack. Valence Watson’s business partners include Nozuko Pikoli, the wife of axed prosecutions boss Vusi Pikoli, and Siviwe Mapisa, the brother of Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.

Mapisa-Nqakula told the M&G this week that she knows Gavin Watson. “Mr Watson is a former CEO of Dyambu Holdings, a company the minister was formerly affiliated to. Mr Watson resigned from Dyambu and went on to form Bosasa. The minister has had no contact with him since then.” According to the minister, she has “no relationship with Bosasa nor has she benefited from the operations of Bosasa”. She is “not aware of any relationships members of her family may have” with Bosasa. The M&G can reveal that Bosasa is seeking to interdict the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and President Jacob Zuma from continuing its investigation into tender rigging.

In its frantic efforts to halt the SIU’s graft probe -- which could lead to both civil and criminal charges -- Bosasa claims that the SIU leaked sensitive information to the Mail & Guardian that resulted in a “trial by press”. Bosasa is referring to a series of M&G exposés of collusion between Bosasa and senior correctional services officials, including former prisons’ boss Linda Mti and the department’s former chief financial officer, Patrick Gilllingham. Zuma’s involvement in the case stems from Mbeki’s authorisation, as president, of the SIU probe into Bosasa. The SIU and Zuma are defending the matter.

The Bosasa group has benefited from prison tenders worth more than R3-billion since 2004. SIU head Willie Hofmeyr shocked Parliament with sordid tales of corruption inside South Africa’s prisons, disclosing details about how Bosasa put the likes of Gillingham and Mti firmly in its pocket. Hofmeyr’s briefing also raised uncomfortable questions about why Mapisa-Nqakula has been sitting on the SIU report from at least mid-September. It is the duty of the minister -- Mapisa-Nqakula -- or of the acting prisons commissioner, Jenny Schreiner, to launch a civil claim against Bosasa. Hofmeyr said on Tuesday: “It is a matter that justifies the institution of legal proceedings by the department to recover damages from the company.”

Mapisa-Nqakula, who was appointed by Zuma in May to head the prisons department, originally said she had to present the SIU report to Cabinet before releasing it. Her spokesperson, Sonwabo Mbananga, later told the M&G that this release was on hold because of Bosasa’s pending legal action against the SIU. The M&G now has access to the court papers filed by Bosasa against the SIU. Nowhere does it seek to interdict the SIU or Zuma from releasing the final report. Instead the applications focus on the alleged tainting of the probe due to media leaks.

Approached again after Hofmeyr’s explosive briefing to Parliament, Mbananga remained adamant: the minister would still not release the report because the SIU has referred it to the National Prosecuting Authority “and therefore the contents ... are sub judice”. Bosasa’s spokesperson, Papa Leshabane, denied the corruption claims, labelling Hofmeyr’s briefing as “speculative, arrived at without hearing Bosasa, are disputed and will be dealt with in the appropriate forum”. Bosasa also disputes the way in which Hofmeyr dealt with the ­matter at Parliament. According to Leshabane, their attorneys have advised them that Hofmeyr went beyond the powers of the SIU, acted unlawfully and breached Bosasa’s constitutional rights.

Although Hofmeyr evidently referred to Bosasa, Mti and Gillingham in his briefing, he didn’t name them, citing pending legal action against his unit. Hofmeyr’s presentation this week vindicated the M&G’s revelations in February that Bosasa had access to tender documents before they were publicly advertised. Bosasa is demanding R500 000 from the M&G for referring to a “corrupt relationship” between the group and the department of correctional services.

Bosasa’s strategy to avoid penalties is two-pronged. First, it is pursuing an application for an interdict preventing the SIU from continuing its investigation until the court has made a final decision. The application is brought by Bosasa Operations, the company’s operations coordinator Angelo Agrizzi, financial coordinator Andries van Tonder, buyer Frans Vorster and Watson. The four men were given notices by the SIU to ­provide certain documentation during interrogation by the unit.

The applicants claim that the SIU’s probe is tainted because of alleged media leaks and the handling of a seizure operation at Bosasa’s premises. In reply the SIU denies leaking information to the M&G and accuses Bosasa of activating a “data deletion utility” on Bosasa’s servers shortly before the SIU arrived.

In the second court action the plaintiffs ask the court for a permanent order against the SIU, “declaring the entire process of the first defendant’s (SIU) investigations into the plaintiffs to be fundamentally tainted”. Hofmeyr’s presentation brought into sharp focus again Bosasa’s astonishing success in winning government tenders. Even after 2007, when it became publicly known that Bosasa was under investigation for tender rigging, the group continued to secure lucrative contracts from the justice department and the Eastern Cape.

The group’s most recent tender is a R3,9-billion contract awarded by the Eastern Cape to Phakisa Fleet Solution, a Bosasa company, to manage the provincial fleet of vehicles. At the time when the Bosasa group was awarded its first major prisons contract for catering in 2004, the company was owned by Watson’s family trust (26%), Bosasa directors Carol Mkele (33,3%) and Joe Gumede (18,5%), and the Bosasa Employees Trust (22,2%). Between 2004 and 2006 three companies in the group -- Bosasa Operations, Sondolo IT and Phezulu Fencing -- were awarded six tenders by the prisons department at the value of R1,8-billion.

The SIU’s probe focused on four tenders: a catering tender for R717-million over three years; an access control tender at R237-million; a fencing contract for R587-million, and a tender for TV systems in prisons at a cost of R224-million. Hofmeyr’s probe found that in almost all cases Bosasa was involved in the drafting of tender specifications and that procurement policies were severely discounted.

Former correctional services chief Linda Mti is a Teflon man. Though he has been involved in numerous controversies and charges, he has never been censured, writes Adriaan Basson. Despite being arrested for drunk driving on at least three occasions and being convicted twice, he still heads security for the 2010 World Cup local organising committee (LOC) with no hint of any action against him.

Hofmeyr’s briefing to Parliament this week adds weight to the suspicion that Mti received more than free air tickets and hotel accommodation from Bosasa, as reported by the M&G in February. Hofmeyr, though not naming Mti directly, told how Bosasa paid architects to design Mti’s house in the luxury Savannah Hills Estate in Midrand. The only concrete penalty Mti has faced to date is the confiscation of his driver’s licence for six months and a R20 000 fine or two months’ imprisonment in his home town, Port Elizabeth, last month. Mti pleaded guilty to drunk driving and paid the fine. In 1992 Mti was also convicted of drunk driving in Port Elizabeth. He was sentenced to two months in prison with the option of a R400 fine. Mti paid the fine. Two years later he was appointed a member of Parliament for the ANC and shortly after that as the country’s national intelligence coordinator.

In 2006 Mti was again arrested on suspicion of driving drunk, this time in Johannesburg. He was acquitted in 2008. At the same time Beeld revealed that he had a business relationship with Bosasa’s company secretary, Tony Perry. Mti was not reprimanded, but he was redeployed from the prisons department to the 2010 LOC to head security. Last month’s conviction after his guilty plea to drunk driving related to a car crash in Port Elizabeth in 2005. He also received a six-month sentence suspended for five years. The LOC has since responded that they still trust him. Mti declined to comment and said the M&G should refer inquiries to the Special Investigating Unit.

Suspended senior prisons official Patrick Gillingham’s opulent lifestyle, allegedly partly bankrolled by Bosasa, was laid bare this week in Parliament. The former finance chief of the prisons department was presented as a main beneficiary in the irregular awarding of lucrative tenders. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) claims that he was handsomely rewarded for his loyalty to the company. The “at least” R2.1-million of kickbacks allegedly paid to Gillingham included cars for him and his children, rugby tickets at Loftus Versfeld, an overseas trip for his daughter and a house in an exclusive Midrand estate. Court papers before the North Gauteng High Court also mention the cars for his children, but Gillingham’s lawyer Ian Small-Smith this week denied his client’s guilt. “It is factually incorrect to allege that Bosasa Operations and/or any company in the Bosasa group purchased the vehicles in question. Upon proper investigations it would be revealed that not Bosasa Operations, or any company in the Bosasa group, had anything to do with the purchase of the vehicles.” Gillingham does not have a tertiary qualification.

Beeld reported in 2006 that he was managing the department’s budget of more than R9-million a year with only a matric certificate. After school Gillingham joined the prisons service as a warder. His personal and professional lives soon converged when he married the daughter of a senior prisons official in the apartheid regime.

Gillingham’s career in correctional services bloomed. He quickly rose through the ranks to become functional services director and later KwaZulu-Natal’s commissioner, before being promoted to the chief financial officer position. In 2007 it seems Gillingham was becoming a liaibility. He was moved to the position of regional commissioner for Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West -- a move perceived as a demotion and linked to his involvement in the Bosasa saga that was starting to hit the headlines. In September last year he was suspended by former prisons boss Vernie Petersen after he [Petersen] was presented by the SIU with a draft report of its findings.

Gillingham has been on paid leave ever since. During his tenure as chief financial officer, Gillingham was a confidant of both prisons boss Linda Mti and his minister Ngconde Balfour.

Source: Mail & Guardian

Sexwale: R1,3bn to rebuild badly constructed houses

It would cost R1,3-billion to rebuild badly constructed houses provided under the government's housing programme, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale said on Monday. "It's a national shame. This is money down the drain. It is money that should have been spent on new houses," Sexwale said during a visit to the Alphendale community in East London, where 339 poorly constructed houses have to be rebuilt.

He laid the blame for the poor service delivery on corruption by construction companies and government officials. "Wrong things are being done in the name of government," he said. "These are people we have entrusted with government jobs and government contracts -- they are supposed to serve the people, but they are thieves. If you are corrupt, get out," he said. "We want to know who built these houses. We need to ask serious questions and bring people to book. We are going to fix the problem, but we are also going to fix the people who caused the problem." "Where we are given knowledge and information you can trust us, we will act."

Sexwale introduced a national audit task team charged with investigating irregularities in the housing system. It is led by Special Investigations Unit (SIU) head Willie Hofmeyr and a senior representative of the Auditor General's office."We are working with the SIU because they have the power to investigate, but they also have the power to institute criminal and civil action," Sexwale explained. "But they don't work alone. They are also working with the office of the Auditor General, which is in charge of looking at all our books, to check how we spend money."

The team is already investigating 20 projects, one of which is Alphendale.