Wendy Jasson Da Costa
Wendy.jasson.da.cost@inl.co.za
IN a week of sensational claims that the Public Protector is facing a criminal probe, another top corruption buster is also the subject of an investigation.
The Mercury can reveal that Special Investigating Unit head Willie Hofmeyr is the latest crime-fighter under scrutiny.
Daggers have been drawn over procurement issues relating to the SIU, after former chief financial officer Veronica Marshsmit was suspended and later resigned. Last night, Hofmeyr confirmed that he was under investigation.
He said: “It is to be expected that among those dealing with serious corruption there will be efforts to discredit them, and this has happened in the past.
“One just has to be tough enough to deal with it when it happens. This was a phenomenon common in developing countries, and even in developed countries.
“We are all equal before the law and I cannot expect to be given special treatment. But I do expect to be treated fairly.”
As an anti-apartheid activist, Hofmeyr was arrested and detained many times. He believed the new fight in a democratic South Africa was against corruption.
An SIU spokesman said the unit had been alerted some time ago to rumours to the effect that a criminal complaint had been laid against its head, regarding a contract for the refurbishment of its main office building.
An initial contract had been awarded after a formal tender process, and an additional contract was awarded for work not included in the initial tender.
Immediately after it became aware of the allegations, the SIU brought the matter to the attention of its audit committee, which consists of a majority of representatives from outside the SIU.
The committee commissioned an independent investigation and appointed the forensic section of auditing firm PWC to conduct an investigation. Although its report raised certain administrative issues that the SIU should address, it found that the SIU had not acted irregularly. The report was submitted to the committee, which accepted it.
The committee had agreed to the report being made available to the SAPS, and this was done.
While the SIU was confident there was nothing irregular about the procurement process, it still awaited the final outcome of the SAPS investigation. It is also understood that a criminal case has been opened against Hofmeyr by a disgruntled billionaire businessman.
The NPA declined to comment, saying that it needed more time to reply to The Mercury’s questions.
The SIU is involved in a number of serious investigations, among them a probe into police procurement procedures. In March, Hofmeyr told MPs that the SIU was investigating 16 departments and public entities for fraud, corruption and maladministration. They were investigating the construction of 33 police stations valued at more than R330 million for “significant irregularities”.
It was also revealed that a large number of the 10 000 government-subsidised housing projects were suspect. Because the corruption or irregularities were so widespread, the SIU had prioritised only the 20 “most serious cases”, which amounted to at least R2 billion.
Referring to the latest police investigation into Hofmeyr, Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said that as in the case of the Public Protector, any serious allegations must be investigated and that no one was immune to probes. However, the situation was worrying and it was essential that the SIU continue its work at the same pace.
“There could be an attempt to intimidate the head of the SIU not to continue some of the cases he is investigating… it is worrying.”
Derek Luyt, from the Public Service Accountability Monitor, said he was not surprised. “Anyone tasked with investigating senior officials and politicians will be probed.”
Luyt said the arms deal showed that people at the top were implicated, so it was “hardly surprising” that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and Hofmeyr were being targeted and that “the Scorpions were disbanded and the Hawks filled with sympathetic people”.
He said the country and the government was in the grip of a powerful “economic cabal”.
The link between business and politics was blurred… there were so many vested interests, Luyt said. He warned that members of the Public Service Commission, chapter nine organisations, civil society organisations and, in some instances, even the media would be targeted. “If I were them, I would be having bodyguards,” he said.
Idasa ethics researcher Gary Pienaar said the close proximity of the news that Madonsela and Hofmeyr were being probed was “too much of a coincidence. It will lead to a suspicion that they are trumped up… leading one to think there is a conspiracy.”
He was relieved that the controversial “secrecy” bill was not law because this would mean information now coming out would not see the light of day.