Municipality’s former SCM’s pension fund withhold due to alleged unlawful activities

The former Supply Chain Manager (SCM) of JB Marks municipality, Modiko Thabang Philipine Selemane will have to do without his pension benefits until the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is done with a civil action against him, says Kaizer Kganyago the Head of Stakeholder Relations and Communications Special Investigating Unit.

Kganyago says the SIU has successfully petitioned the Special Tribunal to freeze Selemane’s pension benefits. On Monday (14 December) the Special Tribunal then interdicted the South African Local Authorities Pension Fund not to pay pension benefits to him.

According to Kganyago, the SIU investigation has identified Selemane to be involved in various alleged unlawful activities in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the JB Marks municipality as part of the COVID-19 response strategy. “The activities include the unlawful appointment of various service providers for the supply and delivery of PPE products and the unlawful authorization of payments that were not due or inflated.”

Selemane resigned as supply chain manager after the municipality had served him with a notice of suspension. The resignation from employment only terminates the employer and employee relationship. It is the task of the SIU to pursue civil litigation against any official if there’s an indication that they have caused damage to the public purse. DA Constituency Head at the JB Marks municipality, Chris Hattingh welcomes the freezing of Selemane’s pension benefits in an effort to recover lost taxpayers’ money. “In April this year, the DA already posed many questions to the JB Marks municipality regarding the huge amounts that were spent on Covid-19 expenses. The municipality strongly denied all allegations, but it was also noticed on a provincial level”, says Hattingh. According to him Selemane definitely didn’t work in isolation and the DA expects further arrests to be made. “The offenses appear to be the standard in procurement practices that have been established in the municipality over the years. Some of these are the focus of other investigations and court cases.”

The spokesperson of the JB Marks municipality, Jeanette Tshite, says the JB Marks Local Municipality has been cooperating with the law enforcement, in particular, the SIU and the Hawks: “We will still provide the necessary cooperation and support from the municipality to all law enforcement agencies whenever we are called to assist.”

The SIU is a forensic and litigation agency tasked with the role of investigating serious malpractice, malfeasance, and maladministration concerning the administration of State institutions, State assets, and public money as well as any conduct which may seriously harm the interest of the State and the public.

Fraud and corruption allegations may be reported via siu@whistleblowing.co.za or a hotline at 0800 037 774.