EC officials in illegal payment scandal

Eight  officials from the Eastern Cape department of rural development and agrarian reform (DRDAR) have been charged with illegal payments of R3-million.

The money is alleged to have been illegally paid to an unregistered cooperative with links with the department’s former MEC Zoleka Capa.

The officials, who paid R2.8-million to Eagles Cooperative, were mentioned in a KPMG forensic investigation, of which Daily Dispatch has a copy. The report called for them to be charged.

This week the department confirmed it had charged the officials and served the implicated officials with final written warnings.

In 2014, a KPMG forensic investigation named Capa for allegedly pushing expenditure of almost R3-million to the cooperative.

The probe highlighted various problems with the payments to Eagles Cooperative, and found Capa had allegedly pressured the officials to pay it without proper procurement processes being followed.

The KPMG investigators recommended disciplinary action against eight lower level officials for the financial lapses, but did not make recommendations on Capa’s alleged role or that of department head Lumkile Ngada and chief financial officer Nokwanda Tungata.

At the time Capa denied any knowledge of the payments to Eagles Co-op and said she had not been interviewed by KPMG.

The department paid an invoice of R840300 to the cooperative while the expenditure approval form reflected an available budget of only R599888.

An official, Vulithuba Masebeni, stated that he was requested by Ngada to approve documentation required to process Eagles Co-op’s irregular transaction of R1166740.

“He (Masebeni) had reservations about the payments especially since there was available budget of only R74982,” read the report.

Another invoice from the cooperative was to the tune of R801000.

Dispatch has seen letters addressed to Masebeni and other employees, Veliswa Henna, SV Madikizela, Lusini Mdakane and Mninawa Ntsepe.

All were later given final written warnings but apparently Ntsepe refused to sign it.

“He wanted a full disciplinary hearing so that he could make a full disclosure,” said a source.

In his declaration affidavit at the time, Mdakane said he received a call from Capa complaining about farmers in her area who were complaining about not getting any assistance for ploughing.

At the time, the region was planning to plant maize.

“I said it won’t be easy to change the maize plan to soya beans and sunflower because these are expensive. The MEC said there is money for soya beans and sunflower,” said Mdakane.

“It was also resolved in Bhisho that the inputs transaction must be paid and be disclosed as irregular expenditure and apply for condonation…” said Mdakane.

Another employee, Silulami Dabata did not process the payments and issued a rejection certificate. According to the KPMG report, Dabata had said due processes were not followed.

“Because bid processes were not followed, (the) bid was not advertised, no list of other suppliers, no bid committee minutes and no deviation letter … the payment vouchers were brought to pre-audit already being payment without pre-audit stamps which indicated that they were paid.”