Covert plans to kill Ag. PSP’s corruption case uncovered

She got under the DCEC radar in 2019 after she was reported to the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund ( BPOPF) Board of Trustees by a whistleblower on claims of having benefited from the P488 million allegedly looted from the BPOPF by Capital Management Botswana ( CMB).

The corruption scandal saw the dismissal of former PSP Cater Morupisi who was implicated in the matter together with his wife, Pinnie Morupisi. After receiving the letter from anonymous sources, the BPOPF Board of Trustees, led by Chairman Solomon Mantswe engaged Peloetletse on the matter and would later forward the matter to DCEC for investigations.

The DCEC is said to now be developing cold feet to have the Acting PSP, who according to the whistleblower’s letter is well connected in the government enclave, charged.

There are claims that the DCEC has been directed to drop the case against Peloetletse who is likely to become substantive PSP if Magosi is confirmed for the position of SADC executive secretary.

According to sources Peloetletse was supposed to have been formally charged in February last year. The sources say the Acting PSP could have long been suspended in terms of Section 35 of the Public Service Act regarding officers facing criminal investigations.

In early November 2019 the Board of Trustees decided to dismiss Peloetletse from the board of trustees after it was found that she had allegedly benefited financially from the embattled asset management firm, CMB, at around the time in 2014 just before it was awarded an extra lucrative tender that ran into millions.

In a confidential letter written to the DCEC Director General by Mantswe on behalf of the Board dated 22 August 2019 and received by the Directorate on 29 August 2019, the Board at its sitting of 22 August 2019 considered the matter at length and resolved to refer the allegations “to your office for investigations.”

Matswe said, “We advise that on 1 May 2019, the BPOPF, received an anonymous correspondence, alleging that one of the Fund’s Trustees, Emmah Peloetletse, was a beneficiary of a luxurious jazz festival trip to Cape Town sponsored by Capital Management Botswana in March/ April 2017.

“We further advise that, Peloetletse was informed of the allegations, and requested to respond thereto through a letter dated 17th May 2019. A response to the Fund’s letter was received on 17th June 2019. In this regard, we hereby refer this matter to your office for further investigations”.

Peloetletse had in the letter alluded to by the Board, confirmed that she was invited by CMB to a partly sponsored trip to Cape Town Jazz festival. She explained that upon receipt of the invitation from CMB, she informed the CEO of BPOPF about the invitation and she did provide her approval.

“I would like to point out that the invitation that I received is not something that is prohibited by the Fund as we have received similar invitations as Board Members in the past and continue to receive and honour them to date. “I would also like to further highlight and confirm that during the attendance of the festival in question no discussions were held between myself and CMB management or any other person regarding CMB’s role as an asset manager of the Fund,” she stated in her letter to the Board seen by this publication.

She indicated that the decision to increase CMB’s assets management portfolio was in no way influenced by the trip. She said the decision was made in accordance with the Fund’s rules and the minutes of the meeting where the decision was made are available.

“On the basis of the above I deny any corrupt practices or wrongdoing on my part as alleged by the whistleblower,” she said.

Peloetletse who was part of the BPOPF board by virtue of being an employer ( Government) representative, was the Chairperson of the Investment Sub- Committee of the Board of Trustees, which is a sub- committee that makes decisions regarding which fund manager to award BPOPF’s lucrative mandates.

BPOPF awarded CMB a private equity contract worth P380 million, bringing the total of mandates awarded to CMB to P880million in private equity at the time when Peloetletse was at the helm of the investment committee.

According to the whistleblowers they were very concerned that while they have been trying to bring to the attention of the Board of Trustees the rot that has been happening in the BPOPF, the Board continues to accommodate and to “excuse” corrupt trustees among themselves. “We have also noted with concern that the trustee in question happens to be connected with individuals from the government enclave who intend to see the downfall of the Fund.

“She is therefore regarded by the Board as a sacred cow, which is why her outright acts of conflicts are ignored,” the whistle blowers said in their letter.

They called out the Board that if they are protecting each other due to other acts others among themselves may have committed then they would have to resign enmasse so that ethical independent individuals may be appointed.

“The Trustee in question, her husband and six others were beneficiaries of a luxurious jazz festival trip to Cape Town sponsored by CMB in March/ April 2017.

“This is the period when this asset manager was in the act of looting the Fund. The same Trustee is the chairperson of the Investment Committee where decisions were made to increase the Investment amount of CMB and to tolerate their bad behaviour when they stubbornly would not comply with their mandate,” the whistleblowers said. DCEC Spokesperson Lentswe Motshoganetsi has declined to comment on the matter. He said this is because the matter is operational.

“Kindly note that the issues you have raised boarded ( sic) on operational issues of the DCEC. Therefore, I am not in a position to discuss such as it is prohibited by the corruption and Economic Crime Act to do so,” Motshoganetsi said in response to a questionnaire sent to him regarding the matter. At Press time Matswe could not be reached as he was said to be in a meeting with the Commissioner of Police Keabetswe Makgophe and had not responded to messages left for him.