Some chickens appear to be coming home to roost in the wake of South Africa’s 2020 COVID-19 lockdown with a former SA National Defence Force (SANDF) employee denied pension pay-out access for involvement in “serious procurement irregularities”.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was granted a preservation order by the Special Tribunal against Nangamso Tyibilika, termed a former senior official of the SANDF in a South African government statement this week. The Special Tribunal, as per the Department of Justice, has a statutory mandate to recover public fund syphoned from the fiscus through corruption, fraud and illicit money flows.
In Tyibilika’s case Advocate Andy Mothibi’s investigators found she as then Chief Director: Budget Management and acting Chair of the Departmental [presumably of defence] Commercial Procurement Board, allegedly played a central role in the irregular awarding of personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to suppliers. The awards contravened multiple legislative prescripts, including National Treasury (NT) regulations, according to an SIU statement.
SIU findings brought to light alleged mismanagement of public funds, resulting in losses exceeding R28 million, fraudulent activities linked to tender awards and settlements as well as unlawful financial flows benefitting individuals and entities.
In addition to the preservation order, the SIU filed a review application at the Special Tribunal to nullify ten contracts awarded to five suppliers and to recover the funds unlawfully paid by the SANDF. The Special Tribunal preservation order interdicts the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) from paying out a pension benefit of approximately R1.5 million due to Tyibilika.
In February 2021, the SIU referred a disciplinary case against Tyibilika and other implicated officials. She was found guilty of misconduct and dismissed.
The investigation was authorised by Presidential Proclamation R23 of 2020. The SIU probe uncovered irregularities in PPE procurement valued at approximately R272.8 million [presumably at the DoD/SANDF, although the SIU statement does not specify]. Included were non-compliance with procurement regulations, misrepresentation and collusion between suppliers and “SANDF officials, pointing to systemic corruption”. Evidence shows public funds were mismanaged, resulting in financial losses exceeding R28 million.
The order of the Special Tribunal is part of implementing SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover financial losses suffered by State institutions because of corruption or negligence.
