SIU moves to recover R33m lost to Enviro Mobi tender
JOHANNESBURG - The Special Investigating Unit has frozen over R3-million in pension benefits belonging to Gauteng's former head of Agriculture, Matilda Gasela.
She's accused of playing a key role in the mismanagement of a R72-million tender awarded to Enviro Mobi.
The company is linked to former ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.
Despite non-delivery, Gasela allegedly approved further payments, including R6,4-million for 'storage costs'.
According to SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, the matter is now before the Special Tribunal, with possible criminal charges also on the table.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Former Tshwane metro director arrested in connection with R11m fraud
A former accountant within the Tshwane metro was arrested and appeared in court recently in connection with illegal transfers of around R11-million into fraudulent municipal accounts. An internal investigation had identified Tienka Abbort, along with two colleagues, as allegedly being involved in swindling the municipality out of millions in eight months. The investigation uncovered more than 200 transfers amounting to more than R10-million from various municipal user [customer] accounts into a ghost municipal account. Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the metro can confirm a major breakthrough in the ongoing investigation into the illegal transfer of about R11-million into fraudulent municipal accounts. Mashigo said the former director and accountant within the city, who had been evading arrest in connection with the case, was finally apprehended. 'She appeared before the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Tuesday morning, June 3.' According to Mashigo, the arrest follows an intensive tracing operation led by the city's Forensic Services Division, working in close collaboration with the police. 'Tienka Abbort's identity is disclosed as she has now appeared in court, and the city is compelled to alert customers who may still be targeted in further attempts to perpetuate this scam,' explained Mashigo. He said during her court appearance, the accused requested bail of R5 000. The National Prosecuting Authority refused and requested that bail be set at R200 000. However, the court ultimately granted her bail at R50 000, subject to the following strict conditions: – She must surrender all her travel documents, – Report twice a week to her nearest police station, and – Remain at her current residence unless she informs the investigating officer. Mashigo said that at the time of reporting on this matter, the accused had not yet paid the bail amount. 'The investigation remains active and will now focus on uncovering any potential collusion between Abbort and the account holders who unlawfully benefited from these transfers,' Mashigo continued. He said the city's Revenue Management Division is currently reviewing the affected accounts and will initiate reversal processes where necessary to ensure full compliance with credit management policies. 'We strongly urge residents to be vigilant against individuals or groups posing as agents who claim that they can 'clear' a municipal debt. These schemes are fraudulent. Although they may appear to offer temporary relief, balances will be reinstated, and participating residents may face criminal fraud charges and lose any money paid to syndicate members,' he explained. Mashigo encouraged residents in debt to visit any of the city's customer care walk-in centres to make legitimate, sustainable arrangements. City Manager Johann Mettler expressed gratitude to the Forensic Services Division team for the sterling work to root out corruption in the city. 'Their commitment has gone beyond traditional practices. They are not only identifying and reporting criminal conduct but also ensuring there is follow-through regarding accountability.' Mettler said that while the division does not possess the power to make an arrest, its determination has allowed law enforcement to act swiftly and effectively. 'We believe the city's fight against financial crime would be significantly strengthened by designating forensic investigators as peace officers under the Criminal Procedure Act. A move that could enhance our capacity to act decisively and in real time,' Mettler said. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
Daily Maverick
14 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
SA almost has a Budget — finance committee adopts fiscal framework, despite MK and EFF rejections
After multiple false starts, a key aspect of the 2025 Budget was adopted in Parliament on Wednesday, with the support of the ANC and DA. When the second iteration of the 2025 Budget came before Parliament's finance committee in April, the divisions in the Government of National Unity (GNU) were on full display. The Democratic Alliance (DA) refused to support the adoption of the fiscal framework and it only moved through the committees and then the National Assembly thanks to the support of non-GNU parties such as ActionSA. On Wednesday, 4 June, the GNU's largest members, the African National Congress (ANC) and DA, finally found each other and the fiscal framework was passed by a vote of seven to three. The passing of the fiscal framework is a key step in the budgeting process. This framework establishes economic policy and revenue projections and sets the overall limits to government spending. This report must be adopted within 16 days after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables the Budget. While the DA opposed the fiscal framework in Budget 2.0, Wednesday's situation was different, with both the ANC and DA supporting the measure against the opposition of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party. Wednesday's meeting was briefly halted to find a bigger venue in Parliament to accommodate all the MPs, journalists and officials, as well as ensure it was recorded, in line with MPs' requests. There were several comments and queries by MK party MPs, including axed finance minister Des van Rooyen and former Eskom boss Brian Molefe. At one point, Molefe said the fiscal framework should include the expanded unemployment rate (43.1%) rather than the narrow definition (32.9%), but his suggestion was shot down. The MK and EFF also criticised the increase in the fuel levy, with Molefe describing it as 'regressive' and 'not pro-growth'. On Tuesday, the Western Cape Division of the High Court dismissed the EFF's urgent bid to block the fuel levy increase. Issues were raised on whether the Budget was that of an austerity budget, denied by the ANC – an answer the MK party and EFF continued to reject. It was questioned several times during the meeting whether MPs were making points simply to grandstand 'because there were cameras'. This seemed evident when EFF MP Omphile Maotwe raised objections over a section of the report that dealt with 'not providing bailouts' to state-owned entities (SOEs), rather than 'capitalising SOEs'. Maotwe said she was at Transnet when she claimed it had been successful under the management of fellow finance committee member Brian Molefe – the former Transnet CEO turned State Capture accused, and now a member of the MK Party on its parliamentary benches. Next week, the National Assembly will vote on whether to adopt the fiscal framework in a sitting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. When the fiscal framework is passed, other steps in the budgeting process include the passing of the Division of Revenue Bill and the Appropriation Bill. During the tabling of the fiscal framework in the National Assembly in April, the ANC appeared jubilant when it was passed without the DA's support, while the DA had harsh words for the ANC and other parties who supported that version of the Budget. It's unlikely there will be such acrimony next week. DM
Daily Maverick
14 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
‘We haven't recovered a cent' – private security watchdog says R129m UIF-linked training fund ‘lost'
South Africa's private security watchdog is at the centre of a multimillion-rand matter stemming from 2019, involving 'material irregularities' and the non-delivery of services. Watchdog head Manabela Chauke has told Parliament that not a cent has been recovered. The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (Psira) has come under fire in Parliament over a 2019 training initiative involving more than R129-million that has led to red flags being raised over 'irregularities'. MPs have also demanded to know why the situation is still dragging on and has not been fully dealt with after six years. One suggested calling for suspensions with immediate effect because the overall situation was hampering young jobseekers. Another proposed that Psira's board be relieved of its duties to make way for fresh faces. The matter involves a nearly R130-million contract linked to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), discussed in a police committee meeting on Wednesday, 4 June 2025. Setting the tone of Wednesday's meeting was what happened earlier on social media. Social media sparring Two days before, on 2 June, the police committee chair Ian Cameron took to Facebook. He posted that the committee was set to interrogate Psira 'over deeply concerning allegations involving the misuse of over R144-million in public funds.' Cameron's post continued: 'The money, allocated via the UIF's Labour Activation Programme, was intended to fund digital training for unemployed citizens through a service provider… 'What followed raises red flags… Learners listed in attendance registers have since denied participating. No training certificates have been issued. Facilitators remain unpaid. Tablets budgeted for the project were never delivered.' Psira then hit back. On its X account, Psira said it noted Cameron's Facebook post and had to 'set the record straight'. We've noted recent social media posts by the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police concerning PSiRA's material irregularity matter. We respect parliamentary oversight, but must set the record straight on key facts and legal process. — IG: PSiRALive (@PSiRALive) June 3, 2025 In a series of tweets, it stated: 'This matter is now under legal and forensic investigation. While Parliament is free to oversee progress, delving into the merits of the case risks violating the separation of powers and prejudicing legal proceedings. 'It is deeply concerning that a presiding Chairperson would publish judgmental statements on an active matter. Public office bearers are expected to uphold fairness and impartiality in all oversight processes. 'We've formally requested that the Chairperson recuse himself from the 04 June 2025 session in the interest of transparency and due process.' Despite Psira's social media posts and stance, Cameron chaired Wednesday's police committee meeting. 'We've recovered nothing yet' Irate MPs spoke out at the hearing. Several figures – some relating to payments Psira had made – were also discussed as the MPs tried to extract more information from the private security watchdog. At one point during the meeting, Makashule Gana of Rise Mzansi asked Psira head Manebela Chauke about how much money it had recovered. Chauke responded: 'We've just said we've appointed a forensic investigation. 'We've come up with a report, out of the report, preliminarily we've issued a letter of demand which has lapsed on the 26th of May… 'So, the answer is we've not yet recovered anything.' Gana pushed him on this point, asking him to confirm if, 'at the moment you have recovered zero.' Chauke replied: 'I'm not sure if my answer is not audible – we have not recovered a cent. We are in the process of recovery.' 'Likely financial loss' and suspensions A Psira presentation on the matter was shown at Wednesday's meeting. It said that in April 2019, Psira had signed a 'funding agreement' with the UIF to 'implement a national training initiative.' Between October 2019 and February 2022, advance payments were made 'to the appointed service provider before actual training begins as agreed and in compliance [with] Treasury regulations.' The presentation said that in March 2023, the Auditor-General of South Africa identified 'a likely financial loss due to non-delivery of services and weak contract oversight'. A few months later, in August 2023, the project resumed and 'the number of trained learners significantly' increased. The presentation said that after several other processes, a forensic report was finalised and submitted to the Auditor-General in March 2025. 'Two officials illegally accessed the forensic investigation report without authorisation,' it said. Both officials were suspended. R129m training contract An Auditor-General presentation was also shown during Wednesday's meeting and provided more details about the April 2019 agreement between Psira and the UIF. It involved the security watchdog acting as an agent and, over six months, providing 'Election Observer and End-User Computing training' for 7,071 preselected individuals on behalf of the UIF. 'The value of the contract was R129,982,657.50,' the Auditor-General's presentation said. Psira also entered into a service-level agreement with a supplier to provide the same training on behalf of the UIF. This covered April to June 2019, a date later extended, and the contract amount was valued at 'R80,062,877.00.' 'Material irregularity' The Auditor-General presentation said: 'During [the] 2021/22 financial year, Psira paid an amount of R15-million to the supplier. 'This payment was not supported by sufficient evidence to enable us to verify the occurrence of the transaction.' In 2023, a follow-up audit was done on the transaction, and it was noted that Psira made follow-up payments to the supplier. An invoice dated May 2019 reflected R2-million, another from October that year showed an amount of nearly R55-million, and an invoice from February 2022 showed R15-million. 'Through [the] audit process, we discovered that the supplier had not yet rendered services equivalent to the payments made,' the Auditor-General presentation said. 'As a result, an amount of R30,182,839.73 was made as an advance payment to the supplier before the services were rendered.' This contravened a Treasury regulation. 'This advance payment resulted in material irregularity,' the Auditor-General presentation said. According to the presentation, a progress report requested in September last year showed that 6,507 learners had been trained. It added: 'Psira terminated the contract with the supplier due to indicators of fraud and misrepresentation. 'Termination took effect from 20 May 2024.' 'Young people disadvantaged' During Wednesday's meeting, MPs were critical. The DA's Dianne Kohler Barnard pointed out that the matter was 'dragging on and on'. Lisa Schickerling, also of the DA, said: 'It cannot take six years to determine wrongdoing. There's something seriously wrong here.' She said the situation was so worrying that the police committee should request that the Psira board be relieved of its duties and a new one put in place 'to ensure that everything in Psira is running smoothly'. Schickerling said: 'We are losing money. The country is losing money. The citizens of this country are paying tax. And we are here to protect that money.' ActionSA's Dereleen James said she understood that the beneficiaries of 'these opportunities'(presumably the training initiative that Psira was involved in, and the focus of Wednesday's meeting) were usually between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. 'How does this affect our communities – what has happened here today?' she asked. 'We cannot just sit and accept that the youth of this country has been disadvantaged because of corruption and because of lack of leadership,' James said. DM
