GPAA acting CEO halts controversial probe into whistleblowers amid mounting pressure

The newly appointed acting CEO of the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), Job Stadi Mngomezulu, has halted a contentious forensic investigation aimed at uncovering the source of leaked internal audit documents.

The move follows mounting criticism from unions, particularly the Public Service and Commercial Union (PSCU), who condemned the exercise as a “witch hunt against whistleblowers.”

Following the leaks, the GPAA wrote to its procurement committee to seek approval for the appointment of Nexus Forensics for R260 000 to investigate how confidential documents found their way into the hands of the PSCU and the media.

The terms of reference for Nexus included imaging the devices of suspected employees, identifying staff who accessed or printed the draft audit, and investigating possible contraventions of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act and cyber laws.

The GPAA further wanted Nexus to obtain and review relevant SOP’s, policies, delegations of authority, and other information relevant to the procurement of this internal audit report by external players in order to understand who was supposed to have access to the report. 

It also wanted Nexus to review email correspondence that was shared among roleplayers at the time when the draft audit report was issued and discussed, including the attendance registers of all the meetings where the same report was tabled. 

Earlier this month, the PSCU wrote to Mngomezulu demanding that he cancels the contract with Nexus, suspend executives implicated in the flagged contracts, and guarantee protection for whistleblowers.

The union’s secretary-general, Tahir Maepa, warned that the use of pension funds to finance a probe targeting whistleblowers was “an egregious abuse of power” and threatened legal action if the investigation was not stopped.

However, in a letter seen by Business Report on Wednesday written by Mngomezulu to the PSCU secretary-general Tahir Maepa on Tuesday, Mngomezulu said he had stopped the probe.

Mngomezulu was appointed by finance minister Enoch Godongwana at the end of August after placing Kedibone Madiehe on precautionary suspension with full pay. 

"Nexus Forensic Services were appointed prior to my appointment as acting CEO at the GPAA and I have since stopped the process. Upon my arrival at the GPAA, I addressed all staff members and unequivocally stated that nobody would be intimidated. I assured them that anyone who experiences any act of intimidation should report directly to my office. To date, I have not received any complaint," Mngomezulu said.

"As you are aware, l wish to remind you that the public service is regulated by policies pertaining to procedures that should be followed before an employee is suspended. The GPAA has the responsibility to comply with these procedures. In line with applicable policies and procedures, the Minister of Finance has instituted an investigation into the matters raised as irregularities.That investigation by the Office of the Accountant-General has commenced in earnest." 

The GPAA, which manages the pension affairs of about 1.7 million government employees, pensioners, and their dependants, has been rocked by allegations of large-scale financial mismanagement.

An internal audit prepared by Abacwaningi Business Solutions flagged governance failures and irregular spending estimated at more than R500 million, including questionable contracts worth hundreds of millions of rand.

In June, Business Report published details from the audit, exposing allegations that the GPAA had paid R270m to contractors for refurbishments on a building it had no legal access to under a lease deal valued at R1 billion.

The agency also allegedly squandered R148m leasing mobile office buses and more than R100m on duplicate ICT projects.

The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration has called for a joint meeting with the Standing Committee on Finance to probe serious allegations of misconduct and financial irregularities at the GPAA.

BUSINESS REPORT