Jacky Molisane, the now acting director-general of employment and labour, was among Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) officials who escaped with what amounted to a slap
on the wrist over an alleged dodgy
contract.
A forensic investigation found failures in the approval chain of a R22.4-million contract driven by Gupta-linked former director-general Richard Seleke during state capture.
This week, Molisane confirmed to Sunday World that Abacus Financial Crime Advisory interviewed her and said she was sanctioned, although she said she had never received its final report.
“From my knowledge, all measures of consequence management were applied. Corrective action, that is, written warning letters, was issued to the officials, including myself,” she said. She said the department activated a process to recover the money.
But a source with intimate knowledge of the investigation and the department’s response said Molisane received a final written warning, not an ordinary warning. The source said four officials were cited in the Abacus report because they formed part of the decision-making and approval chain “from evaluation to authorisation” and were found wanting.
The source said there was no evidence that Molisane or the other officials personally benefited. However, the source maintained that disciplinary hearings should have followed. Instead, human resources advice was accepted and final written warnings were issued, disposing of the matter without a full disciplinary process.
The sanctions were never properly explained in the DPE’s public reporting. Its 2020/21 annual report recorded six disciplinary outcomes only in aggregate: two written warnings, a final written warning, an unpaid suspension and two withdrawn cases. The same report
disclosed ZAM only as a R16.9-million claim for alleged breach of an events management contract.
The contract was investigated after allegations that Seleke interfered with procurement to install ZAM Projects, owned by Zola Key. Seleke’s appointment had itself been linked to the Gupta network after his CV circulated through an email account associated with Gupta lieutenant Salim Essa.
Abacus described the procurement as “flawed and irregular”. In the first evaluation of 29 bids, ZAM scored 281.67 points, far below the 665-point functionality threshold.
One evaluator branded its submission a “poor proposal”, a “cut and paste job”, “dishonest” and “unacceptable”.
Only C-Squared Group and Change Strategies initially qualified, with C-Squared recommended after scoring 98 points on price and empowerment. Six days later, evaluators were recalled.
ZAM’s score then surged by 390 points to 671.67. Abacus found no acceptable explanation and recorded that an evaluator was pressured to change his score.
Seleke approved ZAM on March 15, 2016, although the memorandum proposed a panel. The award letter followed
on March 16. Abacus found ZAM started work before the contract was completed on April 28, leading to R1.35m in irregular expenditure. Abacus recommended referral to the Special Investigating Unit and SIU Tribunal to set aside the contract, recover losses and consider remedial action against Seleke and others.
- Jacky Molisane, acting director-general of employment and labour, and other DPE officials received only written warnings despite being involved in a R22.4-million flawed contract linked to former Gupta-associated DG Richard Seleke.
- A forensic investigation found significant irregularities and manipulation in the procurement process for the contract awarded to ZAM Projects, including inflated evaluation scores under pressure.
- ZAM Projects, initially scoring well below the functionality threshold, was irregularly approved and began work before contract finalization, causing R1.35 million in irregular expenditure.
- Abacus Financial Crime Advisory recommended referral to the Special Investigating Unit for recovery of losses, contract cancellation, and possible disciplinary action against Seleke and others.
- The DPE’s public reporting on disciplinary actions was vague and incomplete, with no full disciplinary hearings conducted against those involved, including Molisane who received a final written warning without evidence of personal benefit.
