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Mismanagement clouds sunny Freedom Day
A mother transporting her disabled child in a wheelbarrow. This was the image that characterised a service delivery protest by parents, disabled children and caregivers in Gauteng on Freedom Day. Parents organised the march to coincide with Freedom Day in order to voice their frustration at the mismanagement of the funds of the Lebohang Centre for the Mentally Retarded and Physically Disabled in the Vaal Triangle and the school’s subsequent closure.
The conditions that led to the school’s closure illuminate the disadvantage at which vulnerable groups in our society often find themselves. The school was closed down in late 2006 after 22 caregivers were dismissed from employment at the school following allegations that negligence led to the death of one of the school’s pupils. The Department of Health subsequently rescinded the school’s licence, while the dismissal is under review by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The caregivers claim that they were dismissed in order to hide nepotism and the corrupt manner in which the school was managed: in other words, that they were being punished for whistleblowing.
This case highlights two things: first, the impact of fraud and corruption on the most vulnerable in our communities. The continuous imputation of blame between the two parties in this case has overshadowed the pupils’ right to education (see Social Justice). Second, case shows that insufficient protection is given to whistleblowers in the public sector: even if the facts surrounding the dismissal are in dispute, such tactics serves to intimidate and discourage individuals from reporting the corrupt activities of their superiors in the workplace.
Allowing communities to respond to fraud and corruption in their own naturally diverse ways stimulates creativity and innovation. While the Vaal Triangle community eventually formed an interim committee to run the school and care for the children, the Simunye Community in the south of Johannesburg (see Provincial Administration) chose a different way of recovering the money stolen from them by corrupt housing developers. They formed the Simunye Community Property Forum (SCPF) in order to consolidate their efforts to recover the money. At the centre of the row are a group of independent housing developers who allegedly exploited the ignorance of community members by collecting money for properties that had already been allocated to individuals through the provincial housing list.
Community-driven initiatives to combat fraud and corruption, as exemplified in these highlighted cases, are the hallmark of an open, democratic society. Meeting these initiatives with sympathy and understanding, rather than dismissals and rubber bullets, is the least that can be done to give more tangible substance to the country’s 13 years of democracy. This also ensures that Freedom Day does not degenerate into mere symbolic rhetoric, but remains a true freedom milestone backed by fulfilled promises.
National Administration
Ex-Scorpion accused of corruption
A former prosecutor for the country’s elite crime fighting squad, the Scorpions, has been charged with 11 counts of corruption, fraud, attempted theft and extortion, writes The Star’s Siyabonga Mkhwanazi. In May 2006, Portia Kgantsi approached a colleague requesting that he give her ten bricks of seized hashish (worth R3 million) because she had a buyer. Her colleague delayed her while he sought the advice of his boss, but she seemed to grow suspicious and pursued the action no longer. However, five months later, she was caught red handed while soliciting a R40,000 bribe from two prisoners whom she had promised to assist. The men claim that she told them she could have the charges against them dropped for a fee. She also told them that she had had the fine against them reduced from R700,000 to R315,000, and surreptitiously gave them her husband’s bank account details for its payment. They, too, grew suspicious and contacted their lawyer about her offers. He, in turn, informed the police, who set up a sting operation and caught her in the act. She has been taken to court on multiple charges and has pleaded not guilty. Full articles in The Star (24 April 2007 and 26 April 2007) (subscription required)
Suspicious payments land ANC leaders in hot water
Leaders of the ANC have recently come under suspicion of accepting bribes from suspected money-launderer, Jurgen Kögl, reports the Sunday Independent’s Jeremy Gordin. The Scorpions suspect Kögl of laundering the bribe allegedly paid to Zuma by French arms company Thint. In response to the accusations, former Minister of Justice Penuell Maduna and his co-accused Barbara Masekela claimed that the deposits were legal. They say the amounts were returns on investments that ANC leaders had taken out months prior to the official end of apartheid. The State, however, is investigating the matter as part of their case against Jacob Zuma. The chief of the Directorate of Special Investigations claims that there are indications that the payments may be linked to Thint and the R500,000 bribe allegations against Zuma. Full article in the Sunday Independent (15 April 2007)
Calls for an investigation into Telkom
Telkom, South Africa’s telecommunications parastatal, is once again in the spotlight for suspected corruption. The deputy general-secretary of Solidarity trade union, Dirk Hermann, has called for a full, independent investigation into its financial affairs after it was found to have paid more than $20 million (R140 million), or approximately 10% above the asking price, for a N igerian telephone operator. Hermann told Business Day that the latest scandal, and the sudden resignation of Telkom’s CEO, Papi Molotsane, have harmed the company’s reputation and its employees. Full article in Business Day (12 April 2007)
Provincial Administration
Fraudulent housing developers feel community’s wrath
Some 277 members of Ennerdale and Lawley communities in the south of Johannesburg have formed the Simunye Community Property Forum (SCPF) in a bid to recover money stolen from them by corrupt housing developers, writes Asanda Nini of City Press. The three developers, who have appeared in court on more than 200 charges of fraud and corruption, allegedly took amounts ranging from R3,500 to R20,000 from more than 200 people desperate for RDP houses and vacant government plots, but had little intention to deliver on their promises. In addition, they awarded RDP houses to beneficiaries of their choice who were not on the provincial government’s waiting list. The Housing Department’s anti-fraud and corruption unit arrested them in February.
Full article in City Press (1 April 2007)
Mayor paid teachers’ salary without working
The mayor of Nkonkobe municipality in Alice (Eastern Cape Province) has been accused of fraud by the Eastern Cape Department of Education, reports Pumelele Godongwana for City Press. The department alleges that between 24 March 2006 and 28 February 2007, Anele Ntsangani received R124,678.25 even though he had already left his teaching position at Gasela High School before taking up his present mayoral position. Ntsangani has promised to repay the money and is co-operating with the Department of Education.
Full article in the City Press (8 April 2007)
The advocate, the City Press and the fledgling PR firm
Mpumalanga’s former Director General, Advocate Stanley Soko, and Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC) chief executive Ernest Khosa, have been charged with corruption, fraud and contravention of the Organised Crime Act, write Walter ka Nkosi and Justin Arenstein. Testimony in court by their victim, public relations firm director Kebidone Mashamaite, revealed that the pair had forced him to pay massive bribes after claiming that they ensured that his bid for a government tender was successful. Soko and Khosa had arranged for the government to pay Mashamaite R3,6 million immediately after his company secured a lucrative R30-million contract, before he had done any work. Former City Press editor Vusi Mona, who helped in securing the contract, is reported to have also played a part in intimidating Mashaite into paying ‘hush money’ to Soko and Khosa to keep Scorpions investigators off his back. Full article in the Sunday Independent (29 April 2007) (subscription required)
Former mayor incriminated in tender awards scandal
Former mayor of Makhuduthamaga municipality in the Limpopo province, Abram Mafiri, has been arrested by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU) and charged with corruption, fraud, money laundering and forgery, writes City Press’ Swize Sama Yende. Mafiri and his four co-accused schemed to defraud people by urging them to register close corporations and then bid for government tenders. When the close corporations were awarded million rand tenders, Mafiri and his men would launder the majority of the money by ‘ceding’ the contract to another company who deposited the profits into their personal accounts. The owners of the newly-registered close corporations were left with almost nothing. The SCCU is hunting for members of the government department who aided the men with the logistical aspects of their crime. Meanwhile, Mafiri is out on bail of R20,000.
Full articles in City Press (1 April 2007)
Jozi FM managers to face the music
The careers of two managers of Jozi FM (voted South Africa’s top community radio station) lie in the balance as their boss decides what action to take against them, reports Charles Molele. The two have allegedly filched over R3 million from the radio station. According to the Sunday Times Metro, money made from music festivals is missing, staff have been loaned money which has never been repaid, computer software has been bought but no evidence of it exists and petty cash cheques have been drawn with no explanations attached. Additionally, the radio station’s revenue decreased, yet staff salaries shot up. Following the examination of auditors’ reports, advocate Sinclair Nhlapo has recommended swift action against the two to recover the missing money. Full article in Sunday Times Metro (8 April 2007)
Local Administration
Cops threaten to subsidise salary cuts with bribe money
Following the announcement that night shift supplements are to be withdrawn, Durban’s metro cops have threatened to take bribes from bylaw offenders. According to a report by Bongani Mthembu, the police officers claim that they could make more than R1,000 in four days by doing so, which would cover the salary money they stand to lose (around R2,000 a month). Unions and opposition parties, however, have criticised their actions, stating that accepting bribes would do more harm than good. Full article in IOL (26 April 2007)
Industry
Fake DVD and CD operation busted
A bungled police operation has seen a major player in pirate DVD and CD manufacturing freed. Last month the police raided a home in Johannesburg and found millions of rands worth of fake local music hidden under trapdoors throughout the otherwise normal looking residence. The guilty party, who had been inside, escaped through an underground tunnel before being apprehended by police. Police were astonished at the sophistication of his racket. Not long afterwards, however, he was freed: police had allowed local music artists to raid the house with them, thereby making all evidence inadmissible because of possible tampering. According to the Recording Industry of South Africa, reports The Star’s Lee Roganger, pirated music costs our music industry half a billion rand every year. Full article in The Star (4 April 2007) (subscription required)
Gym franchisers are sentenced
Ex-LeisureNet bosses Peter Gardner and Rod Mitchell have finally learnt their fate, write the Cape Times’ Ben Maclennan and Mirah Langer. The two were told by Acting Justice Dirk Uys that their fraudulent actions had “let society down very, very badly”. They were convicted of fraud involving R12 million in March. The Criminal Procedure Act lays down a minimum 15-year sentence for fraud involving more than R500,000 but mitigating circumstance compelled the judge to hand the former LeisureNet duo sentences of 12 years each. Full article in the Cape Times (23 April 2007)
Ex-political prisoners claim S exwale pilfered trust
A group of ex-political prisoners, led by businessmen Stone Seroke and Ramakaudi Ramakatsa, have accused ANC heavyweight Tokyo S exwale of fraud and mismanagement, report City Press’ Jackie Mapiloko and Makhudu Sefara. S exwale is in charge of Makana Trust, a fund set up to assist ex-political prisoners and their dependants. S exwale is accused of “turning a blind eye when assets of the Trust are routinely being stripped by a handful of his associates” as well as “allowing the rights of and financial interests of beneficiaries to be eroded illegally on an ongoing basis”. The disputes with S exwale revolve around “un-audited donations and dividends estimated at about R150-million which members feel S exwale’s poor leadership put at risk of embezzlement”. However, the president of the Ex-Political Prisoners Committee, David Moloisi, has chosen to stand behind S exwale, claiming that he has full confidence in him to lead the trust.
Full article in City Press (15 April 2007)
Crime and Justice
Mpumalanga detectives face graft charges
Two Mpumalanga detectives, Shembisa Jan Maphanga and Sontanya Collen Malatji, have been charged with graft following their attempt to extort R5,000 from a robbery victim. According to the Sowetan’s Mckeed Ketlolo, the men were arrested after they approached a man whose vehicle had been stolen, and told him that they had found his car and would release it to him after he paid a R5,000 fee. They drove him to an ATM where he withdrew R1,000 and handed it to them. Malatji returned his money the following day, but the men will still face graft charges.
Full article in the Sowetan (20 April 2007)
Police inspector richer after committing murder
A Pietermaritzburg police inspector, who has not been named, has appeared in court on charges of murder. He allegedly took out multiple funeral policies on behalf of another man, whom he claimed was a relative, and then shot him six times. The inspector then claimed to be the beneficiary of the man’s funeral policies, and was given R120,000 by various insurers. The money has been deemed the proceeds of a crime and the inspector’s bank account has been frozen. The Cape Times states that the inspector neither attended the murder victim’s funeral, nor paid for its costs, despite alleging to be the dead man’s relative and beneficiary. Full article in Cape Times (26 April 2007)
Social Justice
Gauteng Department of Education nabs two ghost workers
A Gauteng Department of Education audit has led to the arrest of two men who were claiming teachers’ salaries despite not being employed by the department, reports The Stars’ Linda Mbongwa. The men, Rendani Nemukula and Zongezile Mboba, have been charged with 14 counts of fraud or alternatively could face charges of corruption and theft. They allegedly glued their photographs to stolen identity documents and opened bank accounts with them. With the help of Department of Education officials, they were registered on the government’s payroll and are believed to have defrauded the department in excess of R800,000. The police have since closed the accounts and the men are currently in court pending sentencing. Full article in The Star (26 April 2007) (subscription required)
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Angry parents demand special school reopened
Cape Times Lebogang Sea reports that the furious parents of mentally and physically challenged school children in Sebokeng, Gauteng, have rallied to reopen their children’s school and care centre – the Lebohang Centre for the Mentally Retarded and Physically Disabled. The school was closed following the dismissal of all its 22 caregivers, who allegedly went on a go-slow that resulted in a child’s death. The caregivers, however, claim that they were fired for different reasons, saying they knew too much about acts of corruption committed by their superior, centre manager Musa Radisela. She is alleged to be unable properly to account for R1,6 million donated to the school by the National Lottery Fund. In addition, they claim that she has employed her son and daughter at the school and allows them to use the school’s cars for personal reasons. A former caregiver states that Raditsela had insisted that parents direct their children’s social grant money directly into the school’s account, despite the school receiving healthy monthly grants from the government. The school’s founding member has voiced his disappointment at Raditsela’s greed, claiming that the good work previously done had been eroded. Full article in The Star (17 April 2007) (subscription required)
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Civil Society and Sport
PSL boss fixed games
The Operation Dribble Team is about to blow the lid off a new scandal involving Safa President Molelli Oliphant, writes Sunday World’s Mzilikazi wa Afrika. The investigators subpoenaed Oliphant following the allegation that his office telephone was being used to fix certain matches for a leading soccer team. Oliphant has reportedly ignored the subpoenas. His personal assistant is also fingered in the top-level probe.
Full article in Sunday World (1 April 2007)
University of Kwa-Zulu Natal weeds out corrupt professor
Professor Pumela Msweli-Mbanga, the former Dean of Management Studies at UKZN, has handed herself in to the Commercial Crimes Unit following involvement in a ‘palms greasing’ scandal, report The Star’s Lania Broughton and Amelia Naidoo. A forensic auditor discovered that she accepted a cheque valued at R16,150 from a doctoral student whom she was supervising. It is alleged that the money was a bribe paid in order to either secure the student’s doctorate degree, or as payment for assisting in the completion of her thesis. Either way, the payment was corrupt, as no supervisor should receive monies from a student. Full article in The Star (12 April 2007) (subscription required)
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South Africa to sign OECD bribery convention
Following stringent tests by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Africa will be invited to sign the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. South Africa is the only African country that has been invited to do so. Signing the convention will allegedly boost confidence in foreign investment and allow the country to “tap into the research and technical expertise of the OECD”. The Sowetan’s Wendell Roelf reports that the convention cannot be applied retrospectively and thus Jacob Zuma’s case will not fall under its parameters.
Full article in the Sowetan (20 April 2007)
IDASA calls for end to secret party funding
The Institute for Democracy in SA (IDASA) has called for an end to secret party funding in South Africa. In this vein, Idasa has recently published a set of guidelines entitled: “Thinking it through: A guide to political donations”. The guidelines are primarily intended to guide South African business on the murky issue of political donations, and “set out principles to which parties must conform in order to qualify for a donation”. Full article in Business Day (17 April 2007)
Global Anti-Corruption Forum V
The South African government hosted the fifth Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity for the first time in the Global Forum’s history. In fact, South Africa is the first African country to host the Global Forum, with assistance from the African Organizing Committee and the International Organizing Committee. The Global Forum takes place biennially, and has been held in Washington (1999), at The Hague (2001), in South Korea (2003) and in Brazil (2005).
The overriding theme for the 2007 gathering was “Fulfilling our commitments: Effective action against corruption”. The aim was to discuss practical and effective measures for preventing and fighting corruption with an emphasis on regional and global anti-corruption institutions. This was an immense event comprising plenary sessions, workshops on different but related thematic areas, panel discussions, ministers’ forums and various exhibitions. Unlike similar platforms such as the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), the Global Forum is largely a state-dominated process, with the majority of delegates representing state bodies.
The conference concluded that corruption permeates all sectors of society and is a global experience that impacts negatively on government structures, processes and optimal governance. The role that corruption plays in increasing the gap between rich and poor was acknowledged. It was agreed that tackling corruption would require effective co-operation between judicial, legislature and prosecution services, the media and NGOs. The need to ratify, enact, implement and apply national and regional laws and international conventions was also encouraged. The importance of accountability and transparency as crucial factors in combating corruption was raised repeatedly. Download the full report on the conference
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"Corruption and misadministration are inconsistent with the rule of law and the fundamental values of our Constitution. They undermine the constitutional commitment to human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. They are the antithesis of the open, accountable, democratic government required by the Constitution. If allowed to go unchecked and unpunished they will pose a serious threat to our democratic state". Former President of the SA Constitutional Court (Judge Arthur Chaskalson), 2000
Umqol uphandle - SA Corruption Briefing, a monthly free e-briefing, aims to document and inform on instances of corruption in South Africa and the SADC region and assist in raising the debate around effective anti-corruption strategies - with a South African perspective. Published by the ISS - Organised Crime and Corruption Programme, Umqol uphandle highlights the results of relevant research, initiatives to combat corruption as well as a snapshot of recent corruption related stories, which have appeared in the media. Each edition features the top corruption related story from the SADC region as well as a short profile on a key anti-corruption agency, organisation or instrument.
Umqol uphandle is inspired by a Xhosa proverb meaning "the moment when something which has been hidden is revealed".
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