A senior SAPS general who sat on the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) that approved the controversial Medicare 24 contract linked to Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala remains outside the public disciplinary net, while other senior officials linked to the fallout have been suspended.
Maj-Gen Anine Ziegelmeier is listed in parliamentary records as a member of the SAPS BAC that considered the R360m health risk management tender. It was later found that the contract was improperly evaluated and should not have been awarded.
Police sources say this makes her “the missing piece” in the scandal.
“The question is why others have been suspended while she appears to remain untouched,” said a senior police source. “She was in the room. Her name is in the record. If the decision was collective, her role must also be explained.”
At the heart of the mystery is an unconfirmed claim that Ziegelmeier could be assisting investigators, possibly as a Section 204 witness. There is no confirmation in the parliamentary documents Sunday World reviewed that says she has been granted Section 204 status or any other protection.
Section 204 allows a self-incriminating witness to testify and possibly be discharged from prosecution if the court finds they answered frankly and honestly. The timing of any cooperation is critical though.
“Did she become a witness before the award, after the award, after the payments or only when investigators started moving?The timing changes everything,” a source said.
Another official said that if Ziegelmeier saw problems during adjudication, the record should show that. “If she raised the alarm at the time, where is it?” Sources said questions were also being asked about whether Ziegelmeier later processed payments linked to Medicare 24. The documents place Ziegelmeier in the June 14, 2024 meeting, when the BAC considered Memo 56, the submission to appoint a service provider to render SAPS health risk management services for three years.
The minutes list Lt-Gen Molefe Fani, the SAPS divisional commissioner for supply chain management, as chairperson; Lt-Gen Nonkululeko Mavundla, the divisional commissioner for technology management services, as deputy chairperson; Maj-Gen Thokozani Mathonsi, component head for social crime prevention in visible policing and operations; as well as Ziegelmeier, as members. They state that “each member was requested to declare their interest” and that “no member declared any interest”.
The record shows no objection, dissent, reservation or warning from Ziegelmeier or any other BAC member.
“Each bid adjudication committee member receives the report and prepares their arguments individually” and “each member may approach their analysis of the report and table their arguments,” Fani says.
That version raises the question: What was Ziegelmeier’s argument, if any?
Fani said the BAC decision was not his to make alone.
“The decision at the bid adjudication committee is collective, not individual.”
Fani says she had concerns about Matlala or Medicare 24 being available before the award. “We would have sought legal opinion and considered it in our adjudication.”
But SAPS sources say the explanation cannot close the matter while a committee member appears to have escaped the same visible consequence as others.
“You cannot have collective approval when the … [contract] is awarded, and then selective scrutiny when the … [contract] collapses,” one source said.
The internal audit report later found that the BAC “did not exercise due care” when it considered the report. All bids did not comply with administrative and mandatory requirements and “should not have proceeded to Phase 2”.
SAPS national spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said all questions relating to the criminal investigation must be referred to Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).
IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame declined to comment on “ongoing investigations”.
- Maj-Gen Anine Ziegelmeier, a member of the SAPS Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC), has not faced public disciplinary action regarding the controversial R360m Medicare 24 contract, unlike other suspended senior officials.
- The contract was improperly evaluated and awarded despite all bids failing to meet mandatory requirements, as found in an internal SAPS audit report.
- Speculation exists that Ziegelmeier might be cooperating with investigators as a Section 204 witness, which could explain her lack of suspension, though no official confirmation has been made.
- During the BAC meeting, no objections or reservations were recorded from Ziegelmeier or other members, raising questions about her role and scrutiny compared to her colleagues.
- SAPS officials stress that the BAC’s decisions are collective, but sources argue selective accountability undermines this principle given the contract's fallout.
