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The Special Tribunal has granted the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) a preservation order to freeze R10.2m pension benefits of a former Lepelle Northern Water official linked to the Giyani Water Project.
The former general manager of operations at state-owned entity Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) Carel Schmahl's pension will be frozen pending finalisation of a civil action brought by the SIU.
Schmahl, who was fired in December last year, is accused of tampering with the resolutions of a task team meeting.
He is alleged to have used cost estimates of another company to motivate for the appointment of LTE Consulting for a project to provide clean water to villages in Giyani, Limpopo, as an intervention by the department of water and sanitation.
According to the SIU, LTE Consulting was appointed to build wastewater and water infrastructure to supply the villages with clean water to the value of R90.9m.
But the contract ballooned to R2.2bn in 30 days without following supply chain processes governing public procurement.
The project started in 2014 and was intended to supply water to 55 villages.
"The [Special Tribunal] order interdicted and restrained Bidvest Umbrella Pension Fund, Bidvest Wealth & Employee Benefits, and Alexander Forbes Financial Services T/A Alexander Forbes Retirement Fund from paying out pension benefits due to Schmahl," the unit's spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.
"SIU investigations have revealed that Schmahl's conduct was inconsistent with the National Treasury practice note on supply chain management in that he did not perform his duties with integrity and was not fair and impartial.
"He allegedly used cost estimates of HWA (Pty) Ltd in support of his motivation for the appointment of LTE Consulting. Furthermore, SIU investigation revealed that Schmahl allegedly committed gross dishonesty by misrepresenting resolutions of a task team appointed to advise the department of water and sanitation on intervention, and his actions have resulted in financial losses by the state," Kganyago said.
Schmahl is not the only official whose pension fund has been frozen.
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In 2021, former CEO of LNW, Phineas Legodi, was barred from selling his four immovable properties pending the finalisation of civil recovery proceedings against him.
His properties are in Limpopo and Gauteng.
The tribunal also ordered that the registrar of deeds in Pretoria and Polokwane effect an endorsement against the registration of Legodi’s properties.
The municipal employees union retirement fund was also interdicted from releasing Legodi's pension benefits pending the case against him.
In December, President Cyril Ramaphosa conducted an oversight visit to the project and announced to residents that a new target had been set for March 2023.
He visited the Nandoni Dam in Thohoyandou, where the pipeline is supposed to start and told residents at the Giyani Stadium that he understood why they had lost hope in the project.
Ramaphosa assured residents that progress had been made and that engineers were hired to fast-track the project.
chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za
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