/ 16 August 2011

Alleged corrupt post office executives probed

South African Post Office chief executive Motswanesi Lefoka and chief operating officer John Wentzel are being investigated for alleged corruption.

South African Post Office (Sapo) chief executive Motswanesi Lefoka and chief operating officer John Wentzel are being investigated for alleged corruption, the Communication Workers Union said on Tuesday.

“We view this as a step towards the right direction … Sapo executive management is rotten to the core with corruption,” it said in a statement.

The CWU called for their suspension pending the investigation into the leasing of Sapo offices.

“Failure to accede to our demands, as CWU Gauteng we will be left with no other option but to mobilise our members in Sapo to the streets against corruption in general,” it said.

Sapo’s board of directors on Monday announced that an investigation into the new Sapo head office building revealed that it had spent R19-million prior to renting out of the new building at Eco Point in Centurion.

Board chairperson Vuyo Mahlati said Sapo would hand over information on two people whose contracts had since been terminated to police for criminal investigation.

Their names could not be divulged and Sapo was not in the position to talk about “specifics”, Mahlati said.

She said it launched the initial investigation in May 2010 after receiving unsolicited complains about the Centurion building procurement from staff members.

Mahlati said a process to recover the R19-million had started, as well as efforts to “determine liability of individuals”.

An additional R425-million was spent on the 10-year lease, an amount which the board at Sapo deemed as an “irregular expenditure”.

The board said it would not try to recover the money as it was not unlawful.

The CWU said last month it had learned about the alleged corruption at Sapo, and threatened mass action if the issues were not dealt with.

“It is clear … that this transaction was premeditated or concocted to enrich some senior officials in Sapo,” CWU secretary general Gallant Roberts said. — Sapa