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South African Bureau of Low Standards

Dear Editor

Reports of the suspension of Moholo Maremela, Chairperson of Nehawu at the South African Bureau of Standards, along with other SABS officials signal that governance at the SABS has reached a new low.

Mr Maremela and Nehawu colleagues were suspended after they went to the office of the Acting CEO Lizo Makele yesterday, to protest ongoing governance issues that have plagued the institution for years and seek accountability.

This comes as accusations abound that the recent cyber-attack on SABS mission-critical IT systems were self-inflicted, by executives trying to cover their tracks after a series of senior staff suspensions, procurement irregularities and loss of SANAS accreditation of the SABS cement labs.

The DA received another whistleblower report on 10 December 2024, which details what appears to be a state of near-anarchy at the SABS, an extract of which reads: “the SABS is at a standstill because of a cyberattack, accreditations are being suspended because the SABS is unable to deliver, Training services are suspended because the maintenance of facilities is atrocious (water, air conditioning, electricity, canteen) – and the leadership pay themselves a bonus.”

The suspension of Mr Maremela and the other Nehawu officials for demanding action from the Acting CEO shows SABS top management is determined to silence attempts by affected SABS staff to hold them to account.

It is clear that a culture of fear has infested the SABS such that staff are now scared to speak out, afraid of being suspended, threatened and victimised. The DA has also learned that significant resources are being spent in trying to identify whistleblowers, rather than dealing with the issues that the whistleblowers raise.

At the very minimum, Minister Parks Tau must immediately appoint an independent, root and branch investigation into the SABS with powers to subpoena witnesses, including board members, executives, staff and suppliers, to give evidence.

Should the investigation reveal complicity by board members and senior executives, Minister Tau should not hesitate to place the SABS under administration and remove the board from office.

Regards

Toby Chance MP
DA Spokesperson on Trade, Industry & Competition

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