The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) expresses outrage and disgust following the debarment and multi-million-rand fines imposed on the top executives of the SA Army Foundation, for systematically looting the financial security of over 40,000 brave members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and their families.
This is not merely a case of financial misconduct; it is a vile act of economic sabotage against the very men and women who risk their lives daily to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our Republic. While our soldiers stand guard on borders, patrol dangerous waters, and serve in peacekeeping missions, a corrupt cabal of executives treated their hard-earned contributions like a personal piggy bank, siphoning off approximately R50 million meant for funeral cover, life insurance, and family benefits.
The principal architects of this betrayal must be named and shamed: Angel Errol Ramphele, the former Managing Director of the SA Army Foundation, and Maria Rosa Barros, the senior executive responsible for financial and accounting oversight. Between February 2016 and March 2022, they orchestrated a brazen scheme of corruption that included the commingling of client funds, the submission of deliberately misleading regulatory reports, a complete failure to exercise proper care over entrusted monies, and the making of unauthorized payments directly into their personal accounts from the bank account of the SANDF Group Life Insurance Scheme (GLIS). These unauthorized transfers were largely funded by additional monthly administration fees unlawfully deducted from the salaries of serving and former SANDF personnel through payroll systems and the use of Defence Force facilities.
The SA Army Foundation, a 70-year-old entity with deep integration into SANDF structures, exists precisely to provide critical support to soldiers and their dependents. Yet under the watch of Ramphele and Barros, mandatory monthly contributions collected from more than 40,000 members – primarily from the SA Army but extending to the SA Air Force, SA Navy, and SA Military Health Service – were plundered. This was not an accounting error. This was calculated, sustained looting that compromised the very financial safety net meant to protect families in the event of death, injury, or loss.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has rightly withdrawn the Foundation’s financial services provider licence, debarred both executives from rendering any financial services for a full 30 years, and imposed crushing administrative penalties: R24 million on Ramphele and R20.7 million on Barros, totalling over R44 million. The FSCA has further referred the entire matter to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) for criminal prosecution.
The EFF demands the immediate arrest of Angel Errol Ramphele, Maria Rosa Barros and all their accomplices. No more delays, no more protection of the connected elite. These individuals must face the full wrath of the law in open court, stripped of their ill- gotten gains, and imprisoned for the maximum term allowable. The soldiers of the SANDF deserve nothing less. This revelation is profoundly demoralizing. It sends a clear message to every rank-and-file member of our defence force: while you sacrifice your youth, your health, and sometimes your life for the nation, greedy insiders in Pretoria’s Centurion offices are busy enriching themselves at your expense.
How can a soldier deploy with full commitment knowing that the insurance policy meant to secure his or her children’s future has been raided? This scandal erodes morale, trust, and the very foundation of the civil-military compact. The EFF will not rest until every cent stolen is recovered and every soldier affected is fully compensated with interest and punitive damages.
The EFF has for years been at the forefront of demanding decisive action from the FSCA against systemic fraud and theft within the pension and provident fund ecosystem.
We have repeatedly highlighted how workers’ hard-earned retirement savings are being looted through opaque administration fees, unauthorised deductions, and outright embezzlement, particularly in the private security sector and at municipal level. Our calls have been consistent and uncompromising: the FSCA must move beyond cosmetic fines and actually protect ordinary South Africans from the vultures who masquerade as fund administrators.
While we commend the FSCA for finally acting against the SA Army Foundation in this instance, we insist that this must not be a one-off headline-grabbing exercise.
The same rigour, the same debarments, the same multi-million-rand penalties, and the same criminal referrals must now be applied without fear or favour to the pension fund administrators in the private security industry who have for years been embroiled in the theft of workers’ money. Institutions such as SALT and Akani, which have been repeatedly exposed for similar patterns of mismanagement, commingling of funds, and diversion of contributions, must face identical scrutiny. The EFF further calls on the FSCA to extend this crackdown to municipal pension funds where political deployees and tenderpreneurs continue to treat workers’ savings as a slush fund for ANC-aligned cronies.
The looting of soldiers’ benefits is a national security issue. It undermines the SANDF’s operational readiness and the dignity of those who wear the uniform. The EFF will continue to mobilise in Parliament, in the streets, and in the courts until every corrupt actor in the pension fund space is behind bars and every stolen rand is returned to its rightful owners – the workers, the soldiers, and the poor of South Africa. The time for polite statements is over. Arrest Ramphele. Arrest Barros and their accomplices. Recover every cent. Protect our soldiers’ futures.
The EFF’s growth has been attributed to its appeal among young voters and marginalized communities.
CodeExia
Fun South African Fact: South African Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first heart transplant on 3 December 1967 at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. The groundbreaking surgery was carried out on Louis Washkansky and Dr. Barnard was assisted by a large and exceptional team of surgeons, nurses and technicians. One of Dr. Barnard’s assistants was Hamilton Naki, a black laboratory assistant who had worked previously as a gardener and went on to work in the animal laboratory at the University of Cape Town. He had assisted Dr Barnard with research leading to the transplant. In the apartheid days, Naki had no access to higher education due to his race. Despite being unable to access formal training, he learned from and assisted university researchers and went on to do incredible work.
Drop Stone
Hoezit /Howzit – How is it going? How are you? A common greeting which is often used instead of “hello” and “how are you?” It combines the two phrases into a simple, “Howzit”, thereby saving time.Example: “Howzit my bru!”