Outcomes of forensic investigations in local government by: input from SIU, NPA, Hawks & DCoG; with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson said all the law enforcement agencies had been invited to the meeting because of the anti-corruption campaigns that were needed at the local government level..

Department of Cooperative Governance on Anti-Corruption Investigations

Mr E Ndou, Director: Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG), said the presentation would deal with anti-corruption investigations in local governments. The Department had requested provinces to provide it with progress reports with regard to the anti-crime investigations. The Eastern Cape, with 42, had provided the highest number of reports.

According to the reports received, the common causes of corruption were mostly due to factors such as procurement irregularities, appointment irregularities, theft of cash, fraud and maladministration.

More than 72 criminal cases had been opened by either municipalities or provinces with the SAPS/Hawks for further processing, and disciplinary processes had been instituted on more than 57 forensic reports.

Statistics from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) indicated that there were 29 cases that were undergoing court procedures in the Eastern Cape. The lowest number was Limpopo, with only one. He provided statistics for the amounts of money which were corruptly used per province, and indicated the nature of the corruption. Nine proclamations had been signed by the President for investigations to be carried out, and those included the Ekurhuleni Municipality in Gauteng and the Mbashe Municipality in the Eastern Cape.

The Department was rolling out a training programme on the local government anti-corruption strategy and the Municipal Integrity Management Framework, and would be collaborating with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), the Ethics Institute and the Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) to launch the Local Government Ethical Leadership Initiative (LGELI).

Mr Ndou concluded by stating that the Department would continue to collaborate with provinces, municipalities and law enforcement agencies to ensure the implementation of the recommendations that emanated from forensic reports.

Special Investigating Unit

Adv Andy Mothibi, Head: Special Investigating Unit (SIU), said the entity was fundamentally concerned about recovering the money that was lost due to corruptive tendencies. It had improved the turnaround times of its investigations, which had increased its efficiency.

The SIU had submitted is reports and provided recommendations, and it was important that the Committee checked with the provincial departments as to whether its recommendations had been followed through.

Mr Pranesh Maharaj, Chief Programme Portfolio Officer: SIU, gave brief explanations for the investigations that had already been finalised by the SIU, per municipality.

Thabazimbi Local Municipality, Limpopo Province

The allegations made were related to the procurement of fleet-related goods or services to the contract value R28 390 837; auctioneering or asset-disposal related services; the drafting or implementation of an asset disposal policy; waste management services for the Northam landfill site, which had payments to the value of R449 969; the provision of office equipment to the contract value R4 397 327; the conversion of conventional prepaid meters to smart meters; and human resources-related goods or services to the contract value R2 056 631, among others.

Mr Maharaj said there had been maladministration in the affairs of the municipality in respect of employees' tax deductions. Any losses, prejudice or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the municipality as a result of the non-payment or late payment of such deductions to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), had been due to such maladministration.

There had been a failure or refusal by the municipality to act timeously upon the conclusions or findings which had been made, or to implement recommendations contained in a final report entitled "Possible Abuse of Office: Forensic Investigation," dated 29 October 2014.

As a result of the investigations, five referrals had been made to the NPA, and about R27 million had been saved by cancelling the contract, although the SIU had instituted civil proceedings to the value of R49 million.

Alfred Nzo District Municipality, Eastern Cape

Mr Maharaj said the allegations involved the procurement of the supply, delivery, installation or commissioning of water storage facilities or tanks, the Matatiele Ward 7 water supply project and a revenue and billing management solution.

Six referrals had been made to the NPA, and savings amounting to R25 million had been made by the cancellation of the contract.

The second investigation at the Alfred Nzo Municipality involved allegations in connection with the procurement by the municipality of six trucks, six sprinkler water tankers and three jet vacuum tanks to the contract value of R75 537 869. He said 24 referrals had been made to the NPA, and the SIU had instituted civil proceedings to the value of R60 million.

Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Eastern Cape

The allegations involved the procurement of motor vehicles by, or on behalf of, the Local Municipality in terms of a hire purchase agreement dated 7 February 2014, and payments made to the value of R41 935 777. He said 12 referrals had been made to the NPA, and the SIU had instituted civil proceedings to the value of R2 million.

Mbhashe Local Municipality, Eastern Cape

Mr Maharaj said the Mbashe Local Municipality had faced allegations regarding the contracting for, or procurement, of motor vehicles and equipment by or on behalf of the Municipality,with one agreement to the value of R71 200 196, and one tender to the value of R106 178 305. Six recommendations on disciplinary proceedings against officials had been made, and that there had been 26 referrals made to the NPA.

Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

The allegations were the procurement of goods or services by, or on behalf of, the municipality in terms of Tender No WS-6656 to the contract value of R102 932 019, and Tender no WS-6749 to the contract value of R53 417 997. Added to this was any non-performance, incomplete performance or defective performance by the service providers appointed in terms of these tenders.

There had been six criminal referrals made to the NPA on the matter.

Endumeni Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

Mr Maharaj said the allegations against this municipality involved the procurement of Tender No 21/2016-17 to the contract value of R7 341 234, and payments made in respect thereof, and any related unauthorised, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the municipality or the state. Nine recommendations had been made to the NPA, and there was a potential to recover funds to the value of R2 million.

Mr Maharaj continued the presentation on investigations that had not been concluded, but were still ongoing.

Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo

The allegations involved the procurement of ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets to the contract value of R184 million; the construction, installation, repair, refurbishment, maintenance or removal of boreholes to the contract value of R76 million; maladministration in the affairs of the municipality in relation to the failure or refusal to refund erroneous or premature payments for R304 101 000, which had been received from the NT or the national transferring officer in the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

There had been further allegations regarding the establishment or regular maintenance of a vendor database or Masterfile, and approximately R210.4 million was required to be returned to NT when the municipality did not spend the money in the 2012/13 financial year in respect of the municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) and the water services operating grant.

There had been a failure or refusal by the municipality to address issues raised by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA), or to implement the AGSA recommendations as set out in the annual audit report.

There was potential to recover about R1.3 million, and that two referrals had been made to the NPA.

Lesedi Local Municipality, Gauteng

Allegations made against the municipality were related to the procurement of an automated time and attendance system to a contract value of R250 000; organisational re-engineering-related services to the contract value of R230 500; the supply and delivery of fuel of no contract value; refuse removal services, of which there were payments made of R16 630 888; and accounting-related services to the contract value of R230 000.

There had been a failure by the municipality to pay, or to pay timeously, the debts of the municipal or government debtor accounts, and the failure or refusal by the performance audit committee of the municipality to submit prescribed audit reports to the Municipal Council.

There was potential to recover R50 000.

Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality, Limpopo

Mr Maharaj said the allegations made against this municipality were those of procuring or contracting for goods, works or services by, or on behalf of, the municipality, and payments which were made in respect thereof, and any related irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the municipality or the state. There had been the procurement of, or contracting for, goods, works or services by institutions in relation to the funeral of former President Nelson Mandela and payments made in respect thereof, and related unauthorised, irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by any of the institutions of the state.

There were eight recommendations made to the NPA, and there was potential to recover R81 839

Eastern Cape institutions (Nelson Mandela funeral)

Mr Maharaj said the allegations involved maladministration in the affairs of the Department of Provincial Planning and Treasury of the Eastern Cape (EC) and the EC Development Corporation, in relation to the allocation of funds to be used for the funeral of former President Mandela, and any related unauthorised, irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by any of the institutions of the state.

One criminal referral had been made to the NPA on the matter.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng

The allegations involved the procurement of:

• Contract No PT 01-2014 (Construction of a new Vosloorus Hospital public transport facility), or any other contract or the appointment of the same or any other contractor or service provider, to complete or to render the remaining services in order to complete the project – 2 contracts to the value of R38 999 762;
• Contract No. PT 03-2015 (Construction of the Bluegum View public transport facility) – contract value of R12 541 846; or any other contract or the appointment of the same or any other contractor or service provider, to complete or to render the remaining services in order to complete the project. 

He said the investigation was still on going, and could not be commented further upon.

Moretele Local Municipality, North West

Mr Maharaj described the allegations against this municipality as the procurement of information communications technology (ICT) goods and services under contract number MLM-IT-03-2016/A2016 by, or on behalf of, the Municipality – 2 contracts valued at R304 453 353.

He said that one criminal referral had been made to the NPA.

City of Johannesburg

The allegation involved the procurement of, or contracting for:

• Vehicles and vehicle maintenance services from Fire Raiders (Pty) Ltd – 3 contracts to the value of R205 444 197;
• Repairs and maintenance work at fire stations – contract value R6 million;
• Closed circuit television equipment and related services from SOS Protecsure National Division cc – three contracts to the value of R12 million; and
• Office accommodation and furniture for the Integrated Operations Centre – 2 contracts to the value of R66.8 million.

The investigation was on going.

Madibeng Local Municipality, North West

Mr Maharaj said the Madibeng Local Municipality allegations involved the appointment of a service provider in terms of a maintenance lease agreement for a period of 36 months in respect of the municipality's pool vehicles, with payments to the value of R280 186 981; any undisclosed or unauthorised interests which the personnel of the municipality or the state may have had in contractors, suppliers or service providers bidding for work or doing business with the municipality, or to whom contracts were awarded by the Municipality.

He said one criminal referral had been made to the NPA.

Umgungundlovu District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal

The Umgungundlovu District Municipality was being investigated for the procurement of, or contracting for, event management services for the Presidential visit event at Inzinga on 23 December 2017; event management services in terms of Contract Number 18/2017 for an Integrated Development Plan (IDP) imbizo; event management services in terms of Contract Number ZNT 1928/2014LG for the Mandela Day marathon; goods and services for the SALGA Games; and project management services.

The investigation was still on going.

On-going litigation

Dr Jerome Wells, Corporate Lawyer, SIU, said there were nine on-going litigations at various municipalities, and summarised them in relation to their litigation values:

▪Midvaal Local Municipality, Gauteng Province: Litigation value of R2 615 000;

▪Amahlathi Municipality, Eastern Cape Province: R92 million;

▪Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape: R17 million;

▪Greater Tubatse Municipality, Limpopo: R300 million;

▪Thabazimbi Local Municipality, Limpopo: R49 848 921;

▪Msunduzi Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN): R554 million;

▪Harry Gwala District Municipality, KZN: R2 million;

▪Alfred Nzo District Municipality: R60 million;

▪Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality: R2.3 million.

Adv Mothibi concluded the presentation by summarising the factors that had led to corruption within the municipalities as procurement irregularities, poor record keeping, employment irregularities, poor management and leadership instability, poor governance (failure of Municipal Councils), poor project management, no appropriate segregation of duties, and poor business processes.

He said that there was a need to strengthen risk management and financial management, highlighting that there was a lack of consequence management in the municipalities. This was demonstrated by officials resigning  before disciplinary procedures and heading to other municipalities to apply for the same positions they had resigned from.

The SIU has engaged with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and National CoGTA in order to initiate a process to establish a; Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum (LGACF),  whose purpose would be to support the anti-corruption initiatives of local government, including the Local Government Corruption Prevention Framework.

He pointed out that the establishment of the Health Sector Anti-Corruption Forum (HSACF) and the outcomes achieved to date, had demonstrated the effectiveness of multi-agency and civil society collaboration in addressing sector specific allegations in an efficient and cost-effective manner, and said that the model would be replicated with the LGACF.

National Prosecuting Authority

Adv Shamila Batohi, National Director of Public Prosecutions (NPA), said that the SIU was obliged to refer matters to the NPA as per Section 41d. From 2002, the SIU had been referring the matters to the South African Police Service (SAPS), and had started only in 2013 to refer matters to the NPA. She stressed that the NPA was not an investigative unit.

She emphasised that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) was the key investigative unit, although there was a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the NPA and the SIU. She clarified that cases in the municipal space did not formally emanate from the SIU, but could come from other entities. The total number of cases that were in court, relating to corruption in the municipalities was 86, as highlighted in the DCoG presentation. She gave a breakdown of the 144 case referrals from the SIU, and said this amounted to 64 cases, of which 18 were finalised.

She handed over to Adv L Baloyi to continue the presentation.

Adv Baloyi started with a case relating to the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, wherein the accused, Jacobus Lerm, a former employee of Tshwane Municipality, had flouted supply chain management (SCM) regulations, causing the city a loss of more than R15m. A 2010 report by the city’s SCOPA had found that Lerm had flouted the SCM policy by creating orders and procuring quotes for services directly from suppliers, instead of going through the procurement system. He then split up the orders into smaller amounts to stay under the radar of the R300 000 cap. The accused had been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, five of which were suspended,

The second matter related to the Ekhurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, involving five individuals vesus the state, where there were allegations of fraud and corruption amounting to R21.9 million; and where a tender was awarded to an entity that did not comply with the bid requirements. All five had been found guilty. Accused number 1 was the sole member of the company that was awarded the tender, and was found guilty on fraud and corruption. Accused number 2 was found guilty of fraud and corruption, and the other three accused were found guilty of money laundering. The asset forfeiture that was involved in the matter amounted to R21 million.

She continued to highlight some of the notable cases that had been finalised in court:

▪  Case 1, the State vs Chule: Related to fraud and money laundering involving an amount of R7.5 million. Chule, one of the accused, had transferred the R7.5 million that was meant for building a community centre into the account of his girlfriend, the second accused, and both would serve an effective term of 15 years imprisonment.

▪ Case 2, the State vs T Gqola: Related to a councillor who took R7 000 from the public on false pretences, telling them it was for them to get reconstruction and development programme (RDP) houses.  He was found guilty of fraud and corruption, and sentenced to serve an effective term of six years in prison.

▪Case 3, the State vs  Malcom: Related to a councillor who accepted a bribe to the value of R1 500 for the purchase of a house. He was found guilty of fraud and corruption, and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

▪Case 4, the State vs Peterson: Related to a Municipal Manager who contravened the Finance Management Act, and was sentenced to serve five years of imprisonment.

▪ Case 5, the State vs Nombiba: Related to an ANC councillor who took the money that was for a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and directed it to himself. He was found guilty of fraud and money laundering, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

▪ Case 6, the State vs Kolantso and Another: Related to a financial officer of a municipality, who colluded with a second accused to amend the provident fund form of the wife of a deceased, so that Accused 2 could pose as the wife of the deceased, thus receiving an amount of R350 000 of provident funds into her account. The two were found guilty of forgery, fraud and money laundering; Accused 1 was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment, and Accused 2 to 10 years’ imprisonment.

▪ Case 7, the State vs P Williams: related to a ward councillor who unlawfully sold plots that had been marked for housing development. She had pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud, and was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

Adv Baloyi continued to highlight the cases that were not referred to the NPA by the SIU:

▪ Naledi Municipality and State vs N Phukwana and another: Related to money laundering, fraud and contravention of the Financial Management Act, and involved amounts of R216 million and R87 million. There were two legs to the investigation, the first being in court and the second being on the way.

▪ The State vs Ngomane and others: Related to allegations of fraud involving an amount of R6.3 million.

▪ Tshwane Municipality: Related to alleged offences of fraud and corruption involving an amount of R87 million. The matter was before court and awaiting trial.

▪ VBS Mutual Bank investigation: The matter was still under investigation, and the Committee would receive information on it as soon as the investigation was complete.

Adv Baloyi said that the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) would have to await the criminal proceedings before they could proceed with their part of the work. She highlighted the notable cases that were under investigation by the Asset Forfeiture Unit:

Robert Abbu and Others

This case involved a number of suspects, including the former mayor of the Ethekwini Municipality. Due to collusion between municipal employees and private persons, tenders were awarded unlawfully. R51m was currently under restraint.

Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS)

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality awarded contracts for the development of an Integrated Public Transport System. Some of the contractors committed invoicing fraud against the municipality. R2.1m was currently preserved, and R4.3 million had been recovered.

Qongqo

The accused was a municipal worker who stole money from the OR Tambo District Municipality and transferred the monies into her sister’s account. R4.85 million had been forfeited, and R425 000 had been recovered to date.

S Mewalall and Others

The accused was the chief financial officer (CFO) at the Richmond Municipality. He awarded contracts to companies, and received kickbacks. R1.4m was currently preserved and the AFU was drafting the forfeiture application.

Keble and Others

The accused and others benefited in the amount of R1.6m as a result of fraud and corruption committed at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. R2.2m was currently under restraint pending the outcome of the prosecution.

Siyenza 2 Matter

Municipal employees had colluded with a company to award a tender fraudulently and corruptly to erect toilets to the value of R406 million in the Amatole District Municipality. The AFU had obtained a restraint order for R81m.

Freddy Tshivengwa matter

The accused was the head of the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) at the Vembe District Municipality. He had recommended that the Municipal Manager award three tenders to a company whilst having a relationship with the director of the company. His house had been renovated and he had received vehicles which were registered in his family trust. The AFU had obtained a restraint for R11.3 million.

She said the NPA had hosted an anti-corruption workshop to improve coordination in the NPA, which had focused on the anti-corruption task team (ACTT) efficiency being addressed, cases decentralised throughout the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) offices, and high level cases prioritised. Progress on cases was being closely monitored regionally, and the MOU with the SIU was being reviewed in order to include the DPCI. The NPA’s relationship with the SIU and SAPS was being maintained.

Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation

Gen Godfrey Lebeya, Head: DPCI (“Hawks”), submitted that from 2002, the DPCI had not existed in its current form because it was founded in 2009. It had matters being investigated by the Serious Case Investigation unit within the DPCI. All the matters involved corruption and fraud. The DPCI was working on some of the notable cases in the KwaZulu-Natal, North West and other provinces.

He said the DPCI’s investigations emanated from different entities – the SIU, SAPS etc. It did its work through task teams, and not as individuals. He stressed that it was important to work with other entities in order to effectively combat corruption.

The DPCI was under-capacitated and was recruiting individuals to be part of its anti-corruption task teams.

He would not be unpacking the VBS investigation, as it was still a live investigation and he could not afford to compromise it. He did state that 1 200 statements had already made on the matter, and the DPCI would be working diligently to conclude the case. It needed to do some auditing on the VBS matter.

He concluded that this was the submission of the DPCI, since it had been invited to the meeting at short notice.

Discussion

Mr C Brink (DA) said he was concerned about the number of convictions being lower than the case findings by the Auditor-General, as there were billions wasted on irregularities.  It was impressive that investigations for the VBS case were under way. He asked why some cases were not being continued when officials who were being investigated resigned. The public was looking for arrests ending up in convictions.

With regard to the Motau report from October 2018, there had to be action taken against the unlawful investors in the VBS Mutual Bank, and the investigation should not be compromised.

He asked the NPA about a Johannesburg engineering company that had produced fraudulent ABSA accounts upon being contracted for an invoice of R66 million, and the investigations had found that only R2 million worth of work had been delivered. The two directors of the company had been arrested in 2017, but the charges had been provisionally withdrawn in 2018, and the NPA had stepped back from its duties.

He said in Tshwane in 2012, a Smart prepaid meter tender had been awarded to consultants who were hired to give advice to the government on saving revenue, but those consultants ended up being awarded the tender without any further tender application or process to implement the installation of Smart meters. The tender had been cancelled in the subsequent year, and billions of rands had been lost due to irregular expenditure. He asked the SIU what had happened to the case.

He asked all the law enforcement agencies why it was difficult to prosecute officials in terms of Section 13 of the MFMA. In only one case -- the Peterson case -- had this been used. He asked why this Section was not being applied to the other cases, stating that this would make the prosecution of officials easier.  

Ms G Opperman (DA), referring to the DCoG presentation, said there were two cases in the presentation that had a detrimental impact on service delivery and potential to cause mistrust and unrest within the communities. She asked for a summary on each of the cases, and an explanation as why there was one that was not complete.

She asked about the 18 community work programmes’ implementing agents who faced cases of corruption in the Northern Cape. She asked for an update on the status of the investigations on those implemented agents, highlighting that hundreds of people were out of work because those agents who were under investigation. She wanted to know who was investigating them.

Referring to Section 32, she there were a lot of municipal cases that fell flat due to long delays in the investigations, and asked that since the cases were referred to the municipal managers for instituting disciplinary hearings for maladministration, would this involve financial misconduct? The AG had said the municipalities were slow in implementing his recommendations, and she asked what had been done to implement the SIU’s recommendations for consequence management.

What process should she tell the councils to follow in order to get help from the SIU to fight against corruption, or how to get a forensic investigation? How should they deal with the issue of officials resigning before or after an SIU investigation was opened up against them?

Mr M Groenewald (FF+) said that the AG’s report was clear about the maladministration that was happening within the municipalities, and it would be great if the AG’s recommendations were followed so that the charges got laid for all the cases that were opened.

Mr K Ceza (EFF) asked how far the SIU was with the case of Dr JS Moroka from Mpumalanga, which involved a project that was still pending since 2009, although the Municipality was receiving funds every year. He requested more information about the alleged nepotism that was happening within the municipality.

He asked if the implementing agencies that were involved in government projects would also be investigated, and what the view of the law enforcement agencies was on the transgressions of the agencies. He referred to the R4.85 million that had been forfeited and the R400 000 recovered, and asked why it was only R400 000 from R4 million -- how was the rest of the money going to be recovered?

He said the SIU and DPCI had to up their standards to ensure that money that was irregularly spent was recovered. The perception of the public was that all the officials who were working in Parliament were immune to the justice system. He suggested that the Constitution should be amended to ensure that charges were laid and the individuals prosecuted.

Corrupt employees needed to be fired and blacklisted, as some of the corrupt officials had a tendency to resign from their municipality, only to apply for the same position in another municipality.

He said that there was a need to build an internal capacity in municipalities to deal with corruption, because individuals who worked in them were easily bribed by large companies that had money in order to pursue their own agendas. He emphasised that it was relatively easy for an individual to be bribed by companies, as the companies possessed financial leverage against the individual.

Mr B Luthuli (IFP) asked for clarity on the people who had been found guilty, but the money they spent had not been refunded. He asked how the money was going to be recovered. When an official resigned knowing that an investigation had been opened against them, how were they going to be held accountable for their actions, even if they resigned?

Service providers were notorious for getting paid for services and running away with the money before they could render what they had been contracted for. He asked how such cases were going to be dealt with.

Mr H Hoosen (DA) said it was encouraging that the state institutions were taking the investigations seriously, but the results of the investigations were depressing. Research showed that corruption was still on the rise in the country even with all the law enforcement agencies in place and emphasised that that was deeply depressing. All of the cases were having a direct impact on service delivery, and the communities were taking to the streets because the issues affected them directly. He suggested that there should be a “wall of shame” next to the “wall of fame” within the Departments, so that everyone in the municipalities could see what happened to corrupt officials.

The public had the right to know the names of the officials who were corrupt, and the reports needed to be published for public accessibility, highlighting that transparency was key to ensuring the end of corruption.

He asked COGTA how many investigations were still pending, how many officials had been arrested and were sitting in jail, and how much money had been recovered. He emphasised that the law enforcement agencies had to work faster, as dragging a case out for too long often led to the case being dropped without reason.

He highlighted that some companies were colluding with political officials, and asked how many of these companies were being blacklisted so that they did not go and collude with other officials elsewhere.

He asked the SIU to comment on the Monase Report from 2013 (case number 8892013), as to this day the complainant had not received an update as to how far the case was in terms of investigative action.

He asked Gen Lebeya about the supporters of politicians which the General had said had put him under pressure at times, and wanted to know if he was by any chance under pressure from political officials themselves as well.

He pleaded with the law enforcement agencies to work with the Committee in ensuring that corruption ended, as it would affect the future generations of the nation.

Ms M Tlou (ANC) enquired about the irregularities that had been highlighted by the investigations, but had resulted in no officials being arrested, as this was disturbing to the community. The Minister had increased the budget for the law enforcement agencies, and the Committee expected them to do their work.

She asked how the money that had been lost was going to be recovered.

She requested information about the official who had resigned before the SIU investigation had been opened, and how the money was going to be recovered.

She said it was poor project management when project managers did not take action against corruption as soon as they had information about it. The community had the right to know what was happening within their municipality. She suggested that the law enforcement agencies should not be office bound, and should take time to visit the municipalities and see the people who were protesting, as this would give them a better picture of what was happening.

She emphasised that the entities were doing work for the community, and needed to ensure that their work was being done diligently. She asked why in some municipalities, incompetent persons were given jobs they had little experience in, such as an individual who specialised in IT would be found in an accounting post, which did not make much sense.

Mr G Mpumza (ANC) said that looking at the results of the investigations, there was very little that was being achieved. The message from the community was that the investigations were a bit too slow and needed to be speeded up.

He asked as to what was going to be done to ensure that the recommendations made by the AG were actioned, so as to charge and arrest the corrupt officials. Why were persons who had resigned not being followed by the law, and being left to go and apply for posts in other municipalities?

He enquired about the case relating to the funeral of Nelson Mandela, which was still not closed, as this was sending a message that the government was tolerant on corruption. There were a lot of pending cases from years as far back as 2008 that were still not complete, and he wanted to know  what had happened to them.

There were whistle blowers who were helping to combat corruption, but the whistle blowers were not protected. He asked if it was possible for a case to disappear from the database.

The information that had been presented was sending the wrong message to the public -- that the government was tolerant of corruption, as individuals were not being arrested, and cases were disappearing before completion.

Mr Ceza referred to the DCoG’s presentation, and said that the Eastern Cape had provided 44 reports, Mpumalanga two, and the Northern Cape and North West one each. He asked as to why there had been so much variation in the reports per province that were submitted.

He said that communities had a lack of genuine leadership, and that individuals who were voted for seemed to have ulterior motives when they made it to office. 

The Chairperson stated that time was not on their side, and asked the entities to respond on a high level.

Mr Brink proposed that, since this was a very important matter being dealt with, the meeting should be continued tomorrow, given that time was running out.

The Chairperson said that this could not happen, as it would mean accommodation and food for the entities and that would be expensive. She said that the entities would be allowed to answer as much as they could, and would be allowed to submit written answers.

She told the entities that local government was very important in terms of delivering services to the people, and encouraged them to take responsibility and play their part in the ensuring the reduction of corruption, because this was becoming the country’s social ill.

She said that the reports needed to be submitted on time and the investigations carried out timeously, because the longer the investigations took, the less the chances were of the persons involved getting prosecuted successfully.

Responses to questions

Adv Sibongile Mzinyathi, Acting Deputy National Director: NPA, told Mr Ceza that asset forfeiture could happen either before or after the prosecution of the individual involved. The prosecutor could apply for the recovery of the whole amount that was forfeited, but the actual amount that would be recovered would be the amount found in the individual’s bank account. Hence only R400 000 had been recovered from the bank account from the forfeited R4 million.

He explained to the Committee that the prosecutor always prioritised civil forfeiture, in which case a restraint order is issued, and the accounts of the suspect are frozen even before the prosecution can take place. However, in the case of civil forfeiture, the prosecutor would have to have enough reason to believe that the suspect should have their bank accounts frozen, but sometimes this was not the case and there had to be a prosecution first.

Answering Mr Mpumza on cases disappearing, he said that in both cases of asset Forfeiture and divil forfeiture, the NPA made sure that each case was followed from the start to completion, and ensured that there were no cases that were left unattended so as to eventually disappear.

Adv Batohi assured the Committee that the NPA was committed to holding every individual who was guilty, accountable. The NPA was committed to sustaining a relationship of honesty and transparency between itself and the Committee. She requested that the NPA submit written answers to some of the questions regarding specific cases and their progress.

She said that corruption cases could take a long time to conclude, but promised the Committee that all the matters raised were going to be attended to, as even at an international level, a corruption case could take between six and nine years to complete.

She said the NPA had the capacity to improve its performance and deliver by prioritising the cases that stood out due to lack of resources. She stressed that the NPA had a lot of cases to deal with. She appreciated that the Committee was holding the law enforcement agencies accountable, but asked what the departments were doing to ensure that corruption was reduced to zero tolerance.

She said there were too many forensic reports on which billions were being spent, and suggested that the government should have its own forensic division so as to reduce the amount of outsourcing that had been happening. With regard to targeting political officials who might have been involved in corruption, she said the entity was not targeting specific individuals but was rather following evidence, and if there were implicated political officials, they would be investigated.

The NPA needed to improve its standards with regard to asset forfeiture, and there had to be a working relationship with the other law enforcement agencies in order to operate efficiently and produce the required results.

She said that all the other questions that might not have been answered would be responded to in writing, and would be submitted to the Committee.

Adv Mothibi said the SIU had a memorandum of understanding with the AG, and with the new Audit Act, the AG was going to work with the SIU to monitor the investigations and reports. The forensic reports from the municipalities were mostly incomplete and pending further investigations, and the SIU would work toward ensuring that those reports were completed.

He asked the Committee to refer matters to the SIU, as it was ready to show that it was equipped with the tools to end the corruption. There was a need for people to be prosecuted and action to be taken against them in order to show that the entity was transparent and accountable in its duties.

He said the case related to the Nelson Mandela Funeral was being prioritised, and the SIU was working towards completing the case.

He asked the Deputy Head of the SIU to provide clarity on the matter.

Ms Caroline Mampuru, Deputy Head: SIU, said the Unit had partnered with the Hawks to look into the Ugu District Municipality matter. There had been a forfeiture of R45 million in 2016, and the SIU would report on that. With regard to the JS Moroka matter, the SIU had not received a request to look into it.

Mr Groenewald interjected to ask if the forensic reports could be made available to the Committee.

Adv Mothibi answered that the SIU reports had been released to the Ministry, and that they would check to confirm that they were available to the Deputy Minister.

Mr Groenewald emphasised that he was referring to the forensic reports, and Adv Mothibi answered that the SIU would look into ensuring that those too were made available to the Committee.

Adv Mothibi continued that the fact that some officials had resigned did not affect the case that was being investigated against them. A resignation was a termination of a work relationship so that the official implicated could avoid disciplinary hearings, but this did not affect the criminal case against the official, and the investigations would still be processed.

The municipalities were receiving recommendations from the SIU, but were not implementing them. He suggested that it should then be made obligatory for municipalities to implement the recommendations after receiving them in order to ensure that the charges were laid, and those responsible were held accountable.

The Chairperson said that she would engage with the Committee to ensure that the recommendations that were made to municipalities were implemented, as this was the primary purpose of those recommendations.

Gen Lebeya said the Hawks were not experiencing any political pressure from above. There had never been political pressure, and the entity knew that the judge would be waiting for them if they were tempted to be pressurised by political officials.

He said that more resources were being put in place to reduce the lengthy investigations into the corruption cases, giving the example of a person who had been investigated in 2009 and would be facing prosecution only today. He said the Hawks were working to reduce this time frame so that investigations were resolved quickly.

He advised that the municipalities should check if applicants had criminal records when applying for a position, since in some instances it had been found that the applicant had a criminal record and would later engage in unlawful practices.

He said the Hawks had to improve its communication mode and make it more effective in order to ensure transparency on all matters.

With regard to the case of the Nelson Mandela funeral, he said that the Hawks were working with the NPA to resuscitate the matter, and the Committee would be informed of the progress on the case as it unfolded.

The Chairperson gave the platform to the Deputy Minister to give final remarks.

Mr Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister, COGTA, said the Department was worried about corruption. People had to be arrested and prosecuted, and more human capital was required to ensure that the fight against corruption became a successful one. Currently, only five individuals were part of the anti corruption team, and the Department had to work on improving capacity to deal with the corruption.

Another matter that was worrying was that there was destruction of infrastructure in the communities. People would dig up the roads, steal cables and destroy property. This would be instigated by some of the heads of companies, so that a tender may be issued for the repair of the infrastructure, and the company that gets the tender was the one that probably paid the people to destroy the property.

In conclusion, he said that the sun had risen on corruption -- and it shall surely set.

The Chairperson said the Committee would schedule quarterly meetings with the law enforcement agencies in order for them to give updates on the investigations.

Adv Batohi requested that the entities be informed early about the dates of the meetings because they were running to tight schedules that were often not easily adjustable.

The Chairperson agreed that this would indeed be the case, and thanked the entities for attending the meeting to give their presentations. She emphasised that working together was the key to ensuring that the fight against corruption in the country was successful.

The meeting was adjourned