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Advisor Found by SCA to Have Misused Public Funds

Dear Editor

The DA calls on Minister Angie Motshekga for her urgent plan of action, following a scathing Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) finding against the previous Director General of the Department of Military Veterans and now Ministerial special advisor, Tsepe Motumi.

In December, the SCA found that Motumi, who acted as Director-General for the Department of Military Veterans in 2015, had unconstitutionally committed the department to a liability for use of unappropriated funds. As the acting DG, Motumi was not privileged to deviate from the Department’s allocations of resources. Motumi issued and signed a supplier’s advice (Government Order) to facilitate payment of R60 million for the provision of healthcare and wellness services to 16 000 military veterans.

Over the past years, the DMV has consistently been one of the Auditor-General’s biggest financial offenders. These offences go as far back as 2014 when the Department of Military Veterans was named the worst performing government department by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration. During this period, Motumi was suspended along with the Department’s Chief Financial Officer pending an internal forensic investigation on matters arising from an internal audit, which resulted in him being issued with a final warning.

In October 2014, then Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, told Parliament that she was unable to table the Department’s Annual Report, financial statements and its audit report due to the suspension of its Chief Financial Officer. Early the following year, the standing committee on public accounts cancelled its initial hearings into the Department, as its internal controls were in disarray.

When it finally managed to hold the hearing in March 2016, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts told Motumi in no uncertain terms that he would have to take full responsibility for the audit outcomes and financial performance of the DMV, failing which he could be criminally charged, and fined or imprisoned.

Instead of facing the music, Motumi was eventually replaced and moved to the Minister’s office where he has served in an advisory capacity ever since. Advisors provide counsel and expertise to the executive branch of the state.

The Department of Military Veterans has not yet recovered from poor leadership and mismanagement. It remains unable to effect its mandate and has been slow in its rollout of pension benefits, database inaccuracies and housing delays.

Minister Motshekga has not achieved a great deal in attempting to turn South Africa’s failing Defence Force around. Neither has she been able to give South Africa’s military veterans any assurance that their plight is receiving the necessary attention it deserves.

The DA confirms its stance that Directors-General must be held fully to account for malicious and gross negligent conduct and will ensure that the Minister adheres to the request for answers through the Select Committee for Security and Justice.

Neither the Minister nor South Africa can afford to be ill-advised.

Regards

Nicholas Gotsell MP
DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. What financial offences has the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) been involved in, and what actions were taken against Motumi during the internal forensic investigation?

  2. Bitter koud — very cold. An Afrikaans phrase meaning ‘bitter cold’, often used to describe the cold weather during winter.Example: “Oh, my gosh! It’s bitter koud outside!”

  3. Did you know that another country lies within the borders of South Africa? The Kingdom of Lesotho is a sovereign state that is located in the Drakensberg Mountain area. The mountainous country has been nicknamed “the Kingdom in the Sky” thanks to the magnificent scenery and landscapes!