The Special Investigating Unit offered its findings to Parliament on Wednesday
- The Special Investigating Unit (SIU), mandated by the President to apply up on the Zondo Commission’s document on allegations of corruption at the passenger rail agency (PRASA), briefed Parliament on Wednesday.
- Billions of rands were looted from PRASA and rail services and products collapsed all over Jacob Zuma’s presidency.
- Umkhonto weSizwe MPs pushed abet at the SIU’s briefing to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA).
- The worn PRASA CEO and the board chairperson at the helm all over this time are implicated within the looting.
- Once investigations are entire, files shall be handed to the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority.
Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) MPs pushed abet against investigations into PRASA contracts price billions of rands red-flagged by the Zondo Commission when the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) briefed Parliament on its “deep dive” into the rail agency on Wednesday.
A briefing took role forward of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in regards to the SIU investigation into corruption in PRASA’s contract with Siyangena. MK’s David Mandla Skosana mentioned that an just engineer’s document ordered by the North Gauteng High Court docket confirmed PRASA bought a appropriate deal.
“Why do you continue with the witch hunt if it’s true?” requested Skosana. He then added, “Because some people view this investigation as a witch hunt. I’m not saying it’s a witch hunt.”
SIU head Andy Mothibi and lead investigator Zodwa Xesibe told the committee that following Siyangena winning the R5.6-billion contract from PRASA in 2012, R27-million used to be moved via subsidiaries and entrance corporations to “disguise gratification to the former employees of PRASA”.
Furthermore, the most attention-grabbing part, R557-million, used to be paid to a company owned by “a politically exposed person”.
The SIU investigators mentioned they didn’t desire to name the folk they’d of their sights because the investigations were tranquil underway and so they’d now not been charged.
Now not naming any names
The SIU’s investigations were proclaimed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in expose to apply the proof that used to be positioned forward of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Speak Take hold of all over Jacob Zuma’s presidency, identified because the Zondo Commission.
Featured prominently within the Zondo Commission document are Fortunate Montana (PRASA CEO from 2010 to 2015), Sfiso Buthelezi (PRASA board chairperson from 2009 to 2014) and the 2 greatest PRASA contracts below investigation, to corporations Siyangena and Swifambo.
The SIU told SCOPA that for the 2010 soccer world cup, PRASA shriveled Siyangena to enhance seven practice stations with excessive-tempo accumulate admission to gates. This used to be extended to a extra 69 stations. These accumulate admission to gates were now not achieve in in time for the World Cup, and tranquil attain now not work as designed.
Then in 2013, Siyangena used to be shriveled to put in an Constructed-in Obtain entry to Administration System at a extra 30 stations. In all, they’d a R5.6-billion contract with PRASA – awarded irregularly – of which they bought R3.3-billion.
Xesibe told SCOPA that a Siyangena subsidiary then paid R11-million to “company E”, which paid “company F”, which equipped a property for this amount within the name of the worn PRASA Neighborhood CEO.
Xesibe mentioned a second property price R1.8-million used to be equipped by “the former GCEO”, revalued at R3-million, and then equipped for R6.8-million to “company G” which used to be “linked to Siyangena and its group of companies”.
Montana is identified to have at one level owned six upmarket properties.
Swifambo
The second-greatest PRASA contract covered within the Zondo Commission document used to be R3.5-billion to Swifambo for the acquisition of 88 locomotives over 5 years.
Xesibe told the standing committee that Swifambo (which did nothing but channel funds) used to be paid R2.65-billion and delivered easiest 13 of 88 locomotives that were presupposed to be equipped from the Spanish arm of German company Vossloh, which bought R1.87-billion in entire.
Ferial Haffajee and Ivor Chipkin of their e-book, Days of Zondo, declare Swifambo as “an unknown shelf company owned by unknown businessman Auswell Mashaba … and Angolan businesswoman Maria da Cruz Gomes”, who used to be later reported to be a chum of Zuma and channelled R79-million from the contract to the ANC.
Xesibe mentioned the SIU had discovered a payment of R110-million to a company that had a director who worn to be a chairperson of the PRASA board.
She mentioned a payment of R1.5-million had also been paid to a company that shared a director with Swifambo at the time of payment.
The SIU used to be also investigating the connection between “the former GCEO of PRASA”, the director of a company that bought “most of the monies” from Swifambo, and the Swifambo director.
Insurance fraud
SCOPA contributors regarded bowled over when Xesibe told them PRASA used to be paying a R30-million per month insurance protection premium, however the underwriter easiest covered claims above R100-million, and the huge majority of claims fell below this price.
She mentioned the SIU used to be also taking a look into fraudulent liability claims, with PRASA having paid R1.5-billion for 299 insurance protection liability claims between 2012 and 2024.
The SIU is investigating 226 files from PRASA’s insurance protection division, with 76 matters present process appropriate review forward of being submitted to the Civil Litigation Unit to build up better money due to the: the incidents by no intention having occurred; accidents now not matching up to the claims; claimants unaware summons were issued of their names; and claims where there have to now not any records of sanatorium admission.
Furthermore, referrals to the Nationwide Prosecuting Authority and the Excellent Put together Counsel for fraud and misconduct shall be made.
The SIU used to be also investigating and verifying 1,277 ghost workers to whom PRASA used to be paying R20-million a month; maladministration and governance complications; the contracting of services and products such as security, repairs, early detection cable theft alternatives, dealer building, lunge back and forth services and products, and forensic services and products such as Werksmans Attorneys shriveled to investigate contracts price R10-million or more as ordered by worn Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in her 2015 “Derailed” document on PRASA.
MK MPs push abet
Xesibe reported the completed findings linked to Werksmans Attorneys, which used to be with out a doubt one of 13 auditing and appropriate corporations shriveled to investigate corruption in PRASA in 2016.
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She mentioned Werksmans, who were paid R170-million, were irregularly appointed by the PRASA board, but “value for money was realised”.
This regarded irksome to MK MPs Skosana and Thalente Kubheka.
Skosana mentioned worn board chair Popo Molefe (who testified forward of the Zondo Commission on how his efforts to dazzling up PRASA were thwarted by political intervention) used to be guilty for the irregular appointment of Werksmans.
He mentioned Werksmans were paid “a whopping R400-million for the unlawful and irregular contract, but there’s no consequences”.
“Some people could believe there’s a double standard,” he mentioned.
“When are you going to the [Special] Tribunal [which hears applications for asset forfeiture by the Special Investigating Unit] and recover this R400-million?”
He also mentioned the locomotives ordered by Swifambo, which were reported to have small utilize on South Africa’s rail community as they’ve the low specs, is more seemingly to be worn.
He mentioned it used to be “sensationalised by the media that they were too big to be used”.
Kubheka mentioned there used to be “a perception” the SIU used to be focussing on “certain people” of their investigations. He mentioned, on account of the SIU discovered PRASA bought price for money from Werksmans, “does that stop the irregular part of it?”
Assorted MPs, such because the ANC’s Helen Neale-Would possibly per chance well perhaps also, pushed for additonal investigations, including into all executives’ qualifications, requested questions on the ghost workers, or how the SIU were facing the negate of destroyed, missing or stolen records and workers having left the rail agency.
