Category: Crime & Corruption News

Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has announced that her office has launched various investigations related to  COVID-19.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Office of the Public Protector said this comes after the institution was inundated by complaints of suspected misconduct and service delivery failure in the last four months.

“Service failure allegations account for a lion’s share of the grievances, with as many as 450 people having approached the office to complain about what they deem unreasonable grounds for declining their applications for a R350-a-month special social relief of distress grant,” the office said in the statement.

For those who lost employment during the pandemic, government announced the Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme, which is to be dispersed through the Unemployment Insurance Fund. The grants were among several interventions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in March in an effort to soften the impact of the virus on society.

“In most cases, the complainants either allege that they were not provided with reasons as to why their applications were unsuccessful or that the applications were declined on the basis that the applicants were found to be recipients of some form of income or that they qualified for UIF, which they disputed,” the Public Protector said.

Mkhwebane’s office has also began investigations into alleged maladministration and irregularities on the procurement processes relating to the R37 million Beitbridge Border Post Fence as well as the R30 million Gauteng e-Government Information Technology tender.

In Mpumalanga, the office is investigating alleged irregularities in the awarding of a Quarantine Camp tender, in which it is alleged that the facility that won the tender was in a dilapidated and hazardous state.

“In KwaZulu-Natal, the office is probing allegations of irregularities in the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by the provincial Department of Education. It has been alleged that the department procured the PPE at inflated prices,” the office said.

In the Eastern Cape, the office is investigating allegations of procurement procedures being floated in the sourcing of a quarantine site as well as suspected irregularities in the procurement of e-learning material valued at R400 million.

Beyond this, the office has initiated an investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds and maladministration by the Eastern Cape Health Department in the medical scooter project.

The office said it is also investigating a raft of complaints related to food parcels, expat repatriation, waste management, water supply.

In this regard, the office has appointed a steering committee consisting of 10 senior investigators. The team will be led by the office’s executive manager.

In the statement, Mkhwebane said: “We have been consistent in our call on the bureaucracy to exercise prudence when it comes to the spending of public funds on COVID-19 related goods and services. We have stressed that deviation from normal procurement processes is not a declaration of an open season to pillage”.

The Public Protector said she has already met several stakeholders relating to the investigations. Among these are several ministers as well as the Auditor-General and the representative of the Special Investigating Unit.

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has dismissed allegations of interference in the appointment of the chairperson of the Eskom pension and provident fund.

A report by the Sunday Independent claimed that Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, revoked the appointment of the first black woman to be the chairperson of the Eskom pension and provident fund, and instead appointed Caroline Henry to the position.

The department said the report is manufactured by “an arrogant and destructive cabal employed to tarnish the reputation of all those fighting against corruption and to defend malfeasance”.

The choice and appointment of the pension fund chairperson is entirely the responsibility of Eskom.

“The allegations seek to tarnish the name of the Minister and sustain a narrative that has been propagated over several months by specific individuals that are entangled in SOE (State Owned Enterprises) corruption and state capture.

“The Sunday Independent ignored all the facts provided to its journalists by Eskom on the recruitment process, including the fact that the company ran the process with the help of an external recruitment firm. The process culminated in a final shortlist, from which Henry became the preferred candidate,” the department said in a statement.

According to Eskom, Mantuka Maisela had not made the shortlist.

The department disputed the report that the Ministry intervened in the appointment of Maisela to the position.

In fact, and in line with the process, the department said, it received a letter from the Eskom Board nominating Henry as the sole candidate, adding that this is a consideration for appointment by the Minister.

“Minister Gordhan approved the appointment of Henry based on the information before him and at no stage of the process did the DPE or the Minister contribute, suggest, or veto any names.

“The paper downplayed Eskom’s responses to its questions regarding the situation regarding Maisela’s candidature and instead chose to caricature Minister Gordhan in line with its deliberate distortion campaign,” the department said.

Before publishing, the department noted that the newspaper was informed by Eskom that Maisela had served on the Fund’s board for a continuous period of 16 years, a service that far exceeds the recommended period in terms of acceptable governance and protocols.

The department called on all to provide the space to the Pension Fund Board to perform their work without being concocted narratives of political interference.

“We are committed to a genuine transformation agenda that seeks to reverse the wrongs of apartheid and the recent state capture atrocities. Competent and ethical leaders have been appointed to the Eskom Board and leadership layer under Minister Gordhan,” the department said.

According to the department, the Eskom executive leadership team is broken up to 70% African, 15% Coloured and 15% White.

“Transnet has a score of 81% African representativity in its executive management, almost half of those being African women. Distortions and other nefarious agendas simply fortify our resolve to improve the performance of these entities and simultaneously implement the Constitution’s values of a non-racial, non-sexist South Africa.”

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries says rhino poaching decreased by almost 53% in the first six months of 2020, with 166 animals being killed for their horns across the country since the beginning of the year.

During the first six months of 2019, a total of 316 rhino had been poached in South Africa.

“After a decade of implementing various strategies and campaigning against ever increasing rhino poaching by local poachers recruited and managed by crime syndicates, efforts are paying off.

“We have been able to arrest the escalation of rhino losses,” the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy.

The Minister said with the COVID-19 lockdown to restrict movement, the decline in rhino poaching compared to the same period last year is striking.

This reprieve was specifically welcomed in the Kruger National Park, where during April, no rhino were killed in the Intensive Protection Zone for the first time in almost 10 years.

Between the start of the lockdown on 27 March 2020 until the end of June 2020, a total of 46 rhino were poached across the country. Of these, 14 were poached during April, 13 in May and 19 in June.

In the Kruger National Park, 88 rhino were poached in the first six months of 2020. As the lockdown restrictions have gradually been lifted, rhino poaching incidents have slowly increased.

Between January and June, 38 suspected rhino poachers were arrested in the KNP and 23 firearms confiscated, while 57 suspects were arrested and 18 firearms recovered during the joint SANParks ECI/SAPS operations outside the KNP.

Despite attempts to smuggle rhino horns valued at around R115 million through O R Tambo International Airport in the first two weeks of July 2020, the decrease in rhino poaching can also be attributed to the disruption of the supply chain resulting from the national travel restrictions, including limitations placed on movement across the country.

“The diligence of SARS customs officials and members of the Green Scorpions, which resulted in the consignments being uncovered, and the resulting arrest by the Hawks of a shipping agent, is a prime example of the excellent relationship and teamwork between departments and entities to stamp out the illicit trade in rhino horns and other wildlife products,” Creecy said.

Notwithstanding the severe interruptions of operations during the lockdown period, the performance data relating to rhino-related prosecutions indicated that a total of 23 accused were convicted.

During the reporting period, January to June 2020, the National Prosecuting Authority managed to not only obtain convictions in 15 cases, but maintained a remarkable conviction rate of 100%.

In addition to these high conviction rates, lengthy sentences were also imposed by the courts.

Celebrating rangers

In celebration of World Ranger Day today, the Minister paid tribute to the men and women whose commitment to protecting the country’s natural heritage, sometimes at the expense of their own safety.

“Our rangers have remained at the forefront of the battle against poaching, despite the National Lockdown, contributing to the decrease in poaching.

“In this time, rangers have had to face not only the threats posed by poachers, but they, and their families, have also had to deal with the danger of contracting COVID-19,” Creecy said.

World Ranger Day, which is supported by the International Rangers Federation, is held annually to commemorate those rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and to celebrate the commitment of rangers who battle poaching in protected areas on a daily basis.

To support the efforts of rangers, the department, in collaboration with the provincial conservation and parks authorities, the private sector and NGO’s, continues to implement the decisions of the Rhino Lab with the latest initiative focusing on demarcating specific wildlife zones to ensure that additional resources are directed to high risk areas.

The department is also in the process of establishing the Environmental Enforcement Fusion Centre, which is aimed at coordinating and improving the reactive and proactive response to rhino poaching and other wildlife crime.

It has begun to consolidate rhino protection efforts across the country, standardising and boosting tactical level anti-poaching and introducing integrated information-led enforcement.

This work further strengthens the essential collaboration with the South African Police Service, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (HAWKS), the Department of Justice and other sectors of the security forces to gather, analyse and share intelligence on wildlife trafficking so that the international syndicate-related crimes can be effectively dealt with.

“The dedication of essential staff, particularly our rangers, during this time is to be commended. Your hard work, and the support of your families, has not gone unnoticed,” the Minister said.

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has called on South Africans and organisations, particularly those involved the fight against gender-based violence, to comment on the Victim Support Services Bill (VSS).

The Minister’s call comes as South Africa will commemorate Women’s Month in August.

The VSS Bill is part of a critical legislative framework by government in its endeavour to combat the scourge of crime, particularly gender-based and violent crimes.

The bill seeks to put the victim at the centre of the criminal justice system in order to ensure that the rights applicable to the perpetrator are also the rights entitled to the victim.

Currently, the criminal justice system focuses more on the rights of an arrested person or accused person, in line with section 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, while limited emphasis is placed on the rights of victims.

The bill also seeks to bring to the attention of the courts the meaning of section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, which provides that “everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law”.

Victims of gender-based violence, therefore, require this protection and benefit of the law in the same manner than it is extended to the perpetrators.

The bill, which was gazetted and published on 17 July 2020, begins to recognise that victims experience secondary victimisation and therefore creates a prohibition against such.

It provides that secondary victimisation is illegal and needs to be prevented at all times through service provision.

The VSS Bill stipulates the various services to be provided to victims, in as much as services are channelled towards the accused.

“It delineates the services of various stakeholders according to their mandate and expertise. This includes the department’s psychosocial support services, which is linked to the provision of sheltering services. The VSS Bill advocates specifically for the legal representation of a victim.

“It calls for the State to endure the legal costs for the victim in cases whereby victims wish to sue the accused for damages. It also encourages providers of services to victims to be accredited to ensure that their services comply with the norms and standards set by the department,” Social Development explained.

The norms and standards include ensuring that employees of facilities are vetted against existing registers, for example the Child Protection Register (CPR) and the National Sexual Offences Register (NRSO), to protect victims.

All stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society organisations and members of the public, are encouraged to heed the call and respond with their comments in shaping a society that will advocate for justice for victims of violent crimes and gender-based violence.

The department said the VSS Bill, by its nature, is a critical part of government’s strategies to fight the scourge of GBVF, including the recently approved National Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Strategic Plan, 2020-2030.

The VSS Bill will specifically be driven through pillar four of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on GBVF, which focuses on response, care, support and healing.

The memorandum on the objectives of the bill and the bill itself may be accessed on the Department of Social Development website: www.dsd.gov.za or from Government Notice No. 43528 Government Gazette, 17 July 2020.

The closing date for comments is 16 September 2020.

All comments may be submitted in the following format: Clause Commented on, Proposal, and Motivation.

All comments may be submitted to the following address/via e-mail: By post: The Director-General: Department of Social Development Private Bag X901 Pretoria 0001 or on e-mail: Siza Magangoe on Sizam@dsd.gov.za; or Luyanda Mtshotshisa on LuyandaMt@socdev.gov.za; or Anna Sithole on Annas@dsd.gov.za.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) is studying the judgment of the High Court to review and set aside its decision on Eskom’s fourth Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD4) for the 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

“The judgment follows NERSA’s acknowledgment of procedural unfairness in the MYPD4 decision concerning the inclusion of the R23 billion government grant without allowing Eskom to submit its representation, in line with the National Energy Regulator Act, 2004 (Act No. 40 of 2004), read with the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000),” said the regulator.

Judgment in the matter was delivered on Tuesday.

NERSA has noted with serious concern that the judgment has gone beyond its acknowledgment of procedural unfairness, and the unsuccessful consultations between NERSA and Eskom by pronouncing on the MYPD4 tariff application.

“The judgment, if left uncontested, will not only disrupt the industry, but will further suppress economic recovery, considering the current threat that the country’s economy is facing. This case was not merely a case between Eskom and NERSA, but rather a case of Eskom versus the South African economy and electricity consumers,” said the regulator.

The energy regulator is currently studying the judgment and will advise on the way forward in due course.

Meanwhile, Eskom welcomed the court’s decision, which allows for a phased recovery of the R69 billion equity injections over a three-year period.

“The judgment that has been delivered is very encouraging. It aids in instilling confidence in the regulatory regime within the country by ensuring that the NERSA methodology is adhered to. This judgment will assist Eskom in paving the way forward towards financial sustainability,” said Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer, Calib Cassim.

The power utility said prior to the court hearing, NERSA was in agreement that the deduction of the equity injection was not correct, in terms of its MYPD methodology.

“The Judge was required only to make a decision on the recovery of the equity. Eskom welcomes this decision, which allows for Eskom to migrate towards a situation where it could become more self-sufficient and be in a position to recover efficient costs and reduce its dependence for further equity support from government,” said the power utility.

Supporting the vulnerable

It is understood that certain vulnerable sectors of the economy – poor residential customers and certain industrial sectors – will require special consideration.

“Various measures are already in place to protect the poor. In addition, Eskom has been participating, under the leadership of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), in proposals where certain vulnerable economic sectors would be considered for targeted support,” it said.

The utility will work with NERSA in implementing the outcome of the court decision.

The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has commended the swift action of the police, which led to the arrest of three suspects allegedly involved in a Northern Cape farm murder.

An elderly couple, aged 79 and 83, and their daughter, aged 50, were allegedly robbed and kidnapped on their farm in Magogong, outside Hartswater, on Sunday.

The body of the 50-year-old has since been found.

Committee chairperson Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela has welcomed the arrests of three suspects, and emphasised that they must face the full might of the law.

“Our justice system must send out a strong message that there is no place in our democracy for such callous and inhumane acts. We appeal to the SAPS to leave no stone unturned to find the missing couple and to bring the alleged perpetrators of this heinous crime to book.

“We have repeatedly condemned attacks on farms and farmers as acts of gross criminality, which is detrimental to the social cohesion that our young democracy needs,” Mandela said.

Mandela has expressed heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

He also appealed to farmers, farm dwellers and rural communities to always be on the alert and to assist in intelligence gathering, which may assist in reducing the incidence of violent crime on farms.

“We applaud SAPS for its swift response and trust that the early breakthrough in the arrest of suspects sends a strong message to others that crime does not pay and that the full weight of the law shall come down hard on perpetrators of such senseless acts,” Mandela said.

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, is expected to meet with the City of Cape Town Executive Mayor, Dan Plato, today to consolidate a plan aimed at addressing the housing challenges currently facing the city.

The meeting follows a meeting held on Monday, where Sisulu met with Police Minister Bheki Cele, Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza, and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille, to devise a plan to address the challenges facing people in the city.

The meeting also comes just few days after the Minister’s meeting with community leaders in Khayelitsha and surrounding areas to understand the causes of the recent unrest in the City of Cape Town.

Since this meeting, Sisulu has been consulting with various stakeholders in order to address the causes of invasions and evictions.

In a statement on Tuesday, Sisulu emphasised that they will, together, have to find the lasting solutions to the problems.

“We have a responsibility to address lawlessness and restore order in the City of Cape Town. Violence will never be an answer to any unfortunate situation we find ourselves in presently. We equally have a responsibility to be proactive in addressing landlessness,” Sisulu said.

Three suspects accused of conspiring to steal money by hacking into the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) system, are expected to appear in the Nelspruit Magistrate Court today.

The suspects, aged between 27 and 39, were arrested in Nelspruit during an intelligence driven operation by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation, together with Cyber Crime, Local Criminal Record Centre and SASSA on Friday.

The suspects are accused of conspiring to steal monies by hacking into the SASSA system.

Hawks Mpumalanga spokesperson, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said an electronic device which was intended to be used to extract information including a laptop, scanner, SASSA cards, and the suspect’s vehicle were seized.

“The three will be facing charges of corruption, fraud, conspiracy to commit an offense and contravention of the Electronic Communication Act.  Investigations are still ongoing,” Sekgotodi said.

Two people, one a current Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa employee and another, a former employee of the agency, have been arrested for allegedly being in possession of stolen assets, worth almost R2 million in value, belonging to PRASA.

The two were arrested by the Organised Crime Unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Protection Services of PRASA this past weekend.

The arrests follow an intense investigation by the unit of the SAPS and PRASA security personnel, which also included a warrant to search the premises of the manufacturing company.

Twelve points machines and 50 signal tuning units, all belonging to PRASA, have been recovered.

“One of the suspects is an employee of PRASA at management level at one signal depot in the Germiston area in the city of Ekurhuleni. The other is a former PRASA manager, who now owns and runs an electrical and railway equipment supply company,” PRASA said.

The two suspects were detained at Elsburg SAPS and are expected to appear at a local magistrate’s court on Monday. The investigation continues and further arrests are possible.

The two arrests are part of numerous other arrests that have taken place since the appointment of the acting head of PRASA Protection Services, retired Brigadier-General Tebogo Rakau, earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the process to recruit 3 100 security personnel at PRASA continues.

This follows PRASA Administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo’s decision to insource security personnel after several security contracts were terminated by PRASA.

“The contracts were found by the offices of the Public Protector and the Auditor-General to have been irregular. Four PRASA employees were dismissed last month as a result of their involvement in the procurement of the irregular contracts,” PRASA said.

The 3 100 new recruits are expected to commence their guard duties in August 2020.