Cloud over Compensation Fund CFO
· Citizen
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has confirmed its damning findings against former Free State Treasury chief financial officer Monaheng Mokoena over the Covid personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement scandal are unchanged.
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This raises questions about his subsequent appointment as the Compensation Fund’s CFO.
Questions over Compensation Fund vetting
The confirmation raises questions about the vetting process that resulted in Mokoena’s appointment to one of government’s largest public entities in November 2022.
This was more than a year after he resigned from the Free State Treasury while facing adverse SIU findings and criminal investigations arising from a probe.
Mokoena resigned from the provincial Treasury on 30 June, 2021. The SIU finalised its report on 10 December, 2021 and President Cyril Ramaphosa publicly released it in January 2022.
Less than a year later, Mokoena was appointed to oversee the finances of the Compensation Fund, a state entity that administers R150 billion in assets.
SIU on accountability after resignation
Selby Makgotho, SIU spokesperson, confirmed that though the SIU found evidence warranting disciplinary action against Mokoena, no disciplinary proceedings were instituted as he resigned before it could begin.
Asked whether the SIU recommended that accountability measures continue after his resignation, Makgotho said: “One would expect the Free State Treasury to inform the new employer about the conduct of a former employee, should they inquire.”
He said the SIU was unaware Mokoena had been appointed as Compensation Fund CFO and so did not engage the Department of Employment and Labour or the fund regarding its findings.
Compensation Fund’s response
The Compensation Fund has said all necessary screening and vetting processes were conducted before Mokoena’s appointment.
The SIU had referred evidence of alleged criminal conduct involving Mokoena to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), while the Hawks in the Free State have confirmed that the two criminal dockets are with prosecutors for a decision on whether to institute criminal charges.
Nearly six years after the alleged offences were reported, no prosecution decision has yet been announced.
The renewed focus on Mokoena’s appointment comes as the Compensation Fund faces mounting whistle-blower allegations of procurement irregularities, governance failures, questionable contracting and weaknesses in financial controls.
SIU investigation details
The SIU investigation centred on emergency PPE contracts worth R11.18 million awarded to C-Squared Consumer Connectedness (Pty) Ltd, an events company.
According to the SIU report, evidence of alleged criminal conduct involving Mokoena, C-Squared chief executive Ben Moseme and the company itself was referred to the NPA on 30 September, 2020 and, again, on 12 November, 2020.
Investigators concluded that the procurement process for one of the contracts had been created by Mokoena and did not comply with Section 217 of the constitution, which requires public procurement be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
The SIU also found evidence suggesting Mokoena, Moseme and C-Squared may have made misrepresentations to the accounting officer regarding quotations, pricing and procurement under the contracts.
In a second contract, investigators found evidence of alleged misrepresentations during negotiations over inflated prices for coveralls and FFP2 N95 masks, including claims that prices above the National Treasury benchmark had been negotiated down.
Civil society raises concerns
Mokoena’s appointment as Compensation Fund CFO came after the SIU had completed its investigation, submitted its report to the president, referred evidence of alleged criminal conduct to the NPA and recommended disciplinary action against him.
Civil society organisation Forum for South Africa said Mokoena’s appointment raised questions of accountability.
The Compensation Fund said the appointment followed an open, transparent and competitive recruitment press.