Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says President Cyril Ramaphosa is attending to the matter of national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola, who appeared in court on Tuesday regarding allegations related to Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala’s R360m tender.
Masemola is charged with four counts of contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) over the tender that was awarded to Matlala, an alleged crime cartel member.
The state alleges that Masemola, in his capacity as the accounting officer, failed to take appropriate steps to ensure the police did not incur wasteful expenditure.
Asked whether Ramaphosa would consider putting Masemola on suspension or asking him to take leave while investigations are conducted, Magwenya said: “The president is attending to the matter.”
Matlala’s company, Medicare24, was awarded the tender in February 2024. However, it was cancelled in May the next year.
When he appeared before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of malfeasance in the SAPS, Masemola testified that the newly appointed police minister, Senzo Mchunu, had requested a meeting to discuss the contract.
He said a preliminary internal audit report on the contract later raised serious concerns.
Masemola said the report found that the bid evaluation committee did not have the appropriate skills and competence to evaluate the bid.
“There was no individual scoring and the due diligence process failed to consider the bidder’s ethical history.
“It also found evidence of misrepresentation and fronting, and warned that the use of external facilitators had exposed the SAPS to a corruption risk damaging to its reputation.”
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