The Special Tribunal has granted a preservation order to freeze the pension benefits of the former head of Limpopo's health department, Dr Thokozani Florence Mhlongo, until investigations into wasteful expenditure of R10m on cellphones for Covid-19 screening have been completed.
“The Special Tribunal order interdicts and restrains the Government Employees Pension Fund from paying out or transferring any benefits due to Dr Mhlongo, pending the final determination of civil proceedings, for recovery of damages or losses suffered by the department and disgorgement of profit derived from unlawful contracts and secret profits, if any, to be instituted within 60 days,” said Special Investigating Unit (SIU) spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago.
“The SIU approached the Special Tribunal to freeze pension benefits of Dr Mhlongo after she resigned with immediate effect in June 2022, in the face of a disciplinary hearing which emanated from SIU investigations into the affairs of the department relating to the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The SIU investigations have uncovered irregularities in the appointment of service providers Clinipro Pty Ltd, Pro Secure Pty Ltd, and Ndia Business Trading Pty Ltd for the supply and delivery of PPE items, which resulted in the department incurring irregular expenditure and/or a fruitless and wasteful expenditure of approximately R182m.
“Furthermore, the SIU investigation revealed that Dr Mhlongo, as the accounting officer, allegedly exposed the department to a wasteful expenditure when she authorised the procurement and payment of 10,000 cellphones to the value of R10m for Covid-19 household screening.”
He said SIU investigations revealed the department distributed only 388 of the 10,000 cellphones between September 2020 and March 2021 and, furthermore, the cellphones were distributed without the required screening application.
“After the physical counting of cellphones in storage by SIU investigators in March 2021, the department distributed 9,588 cellphones to community health workers for Covid-19 vaccination without the required application installed,” Kganyago said, adding that the SIU welcomes the preservation order.
“This is a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover assets and financial losses suffered by state institutions and/or to prevent further losses.
“The SIU will continue to pursue officials who resign in the face of an investigation or in the face of a disciplinary action by freezing their pension benefits and institute civil litigation to recover financial losses suffered by state institutions.”
newsdesk@sowetan.co.za
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