Biggest tech scandals in SA
Whether it’s accusations that Telkom’s CEO, Sipho Maseko, has been driving around with cloned number plates on his luxury 4×4, or the seemingly endless controversy surrounding the SABC’s board (and COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, in particular), there’s no shortage of scandalous tales for South African journalists to chase. Here are five of the standouts from recent years.
Dina Pule, her boyfriend and the ICT Indaba
Over the last decade, South Africa’s department of communications has had more ministers than a Methodist convention, most of whom have raised more eyebrows than hopes. Though competition is stiff for the title of most-scandalous minister, the prize has to go to Dina Pule. Pule succeeded the late Roy Padayachie, having previously held the position of deputy minister of communications from May 2009 until October 2010, when she was sacked along with then minister of communications, Siphiwe Nyanda.
In between accusing the Sunday Times newspaper of lying, failing to make any progress on South Africa’s much-needed transition to digital terrestrial television and feuding with her director general Rosey Sekese, Pule still found time to take her romantic partner, businessman Phosane Mngqibisa on international trips – in violation of parliament’s rules – and enabled Mngqibisa to siphon sponsors money for the 2012 ICT Indaba to his own companies’ accounts.
Both the public protector and parliament’s ethics committee found Pule had abused her position and that Mngqibisa had benefited from his relationship with her – a relationship she continued to deny, right up until she was removed from her position and replaced by Yunus Carrim in July last year.
Net1 and the social grants debacle
In October 2012, the high court found the South African Social Security Agency’s tender processes – which saw it award five-year, R10bn tender to JSE- and NYSE-listed Net1 subsidiary, Cash Paymaster Services – were illegal and invalid, but failed to set the contract aside because of the disruption it would cause in the payment of social grants to those who rely on them.
Absa’s AllPay subsidiary had also been vying for the contract, and prompted the court action.
The constitutional court eventually ruled that the tender be reissued in April this year, prompting Net1’s share price to fall 30%.
Telkom CFO’s suspension and departure
Last week Telkom chief financial officer, Jacques Schindehütte resigned following a disciplinary hearing. Last October Schindehütte was suspended for what the operator called “personal misconduct” having weeks earlier purchased R6m in Telkom shares using a company loan – something the company continues to deny is related to Schindehütte’s departure.
Schindehütte previously claimed the loan and subsequent share purchase were approved by both Telkom’s CEO, Sipho Maseko, and chairman of the board, Jabu Mabuza. Telkom has since said the board was not in a position to, and did not, approve the loan.
The Free State provincial website
In 2011, a company run by businessman Tumi Ntsele won a tender allegedly worth more as much as R140m to redesign the website of the provincial government of the Free State.
While the eye-watering figure was sufficiently controversial in its own right, it was compounded by the fact that Ntsele reportedly already held numerous tenders from various provincial departments. For extra controvery points, Ntsele is also linked to the Letlaka Group, a media company responsible for a government-friendly publication called “The Weekly”.
In March last year the auditor general agreed to investigate the awarding of the contract, after a request lodged by the Democratic Alliance, along with other tenders issued by the office of Free State premier, Ace Magashule, who reportedly has close tied to Ntsele.
Pinnacle boss arrested
In March, executive director of Pinnacle Holdings, Takalani Tshivhase, was arrested for alleged corruption. Tshivhase stands accused of trying to bribe a senior member of the South African Police Service in order to secure a lucrative contract.
To add to the scandal, Tshivhase sold R4m worth of Pinnacle shares – with the board’s consent – shortly before his arrest made headlines, while Pinnacle CEO Arnold Fourie snapped up more than R13m worth of the company’s shares – then thoroughly depressed – in the days following Tshivhase’s arrest.
Source: Moneyweb
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