Peter Dickson
More than R300-million in taxpayers’ money is owed in unauthorised, outstanding loans to senior civil servants in the Eastern Cape.
This disclosure comes a week after provincial speaker Gugile Nkwinti suspended two officials who had cashed in more than R300 000 in air tickets for members of the legislature without authorisation.
The legislature’s finance director, Bej Fatuse, and its secretary and accounting officer, Connie de Beer, were suspended last week pending a top-level investigation. Fatuse ran a lending business called Fatuse and Sons.
De Beer resigned on Wednesday, saying his position had become untenable. He said he had not acted fraudulently, and his relationship with the provincial government had “broken down”.
Nkwinti said other money-lending companies – Alternative Finance Limited, Lantern Services and King Finance Corporation – have been operating in the legislature’s precincts. Although they followed correct procedures in approaching the legislature’s human resources department, they did not secure Nkwinti’s authorisation to operate there.
Nkwinti said Fatuse and Sons had operated since last year without following any procedures. While the investigation into Fatuse and De Beer continued this week, the provincial government’s Department of Finance was also under fire.
Six years ago, Bisho deputy permanent secretary of finance Mondile Limekhaya took out a R628 000 loan from parastatal Transidio, where he was an executive member, to finance a fashion retailing business in Butterworth.
The business bombed and Limekhaya and his partner, Lizo Kakana, failed to make a single repayment. They owe a further R600 000 interest.
Limekhaya and Kakana were served with a letter of demand for R1,2-million by Judge Willem Heath’s special investigation unit this week.
When Transidio became the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, Limekhaya and Kakana were appointed to the board. Now called the Eastern Cape Development Agency, the entire board has since been replaced.
Judge Heath’s unit disclosed earlier this month the development corporation was owed more than R335-million in unpaid loans – largely by former management – and R82- million in overdue rentals. Recovering the money is critical to the development agency’s survival, says its new boss, Pieter Bosch.
Letters of demand have also been sent to the agency’s former head, Campbell Bomela, who received about R100 000 in government subsidies while illegally occupying a R200-a- month state house he did not qualify for, and to former board member Mbali Swana. Swana, a Durban architect, and his wife, Sibongile, borrowed R370 000 for a failed Umtata restaurant venture.
Bisho’s troubled finance department was also mentioned in the National Assembly this week.
National finance Director General Maria Ramos told MPs that eight redundant civil servants who were “dumped” on her department in the Eastern Cape from the former Transkei and Ciskei audit offices did not have the necessary skills and had refused transfers to Pretoria. They were still being paid, she said.