CORRUPTION CLAIMS HIT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Serious allegations against Department of Small Business Development officials
SEVERAL officials of the Department of Small Business Development have been suspended with immediate effect after serious allegations of corruption within the unit responsible for incentive scheme administration.
In a statement, the department said it had so far issued nine precautionary suspension letters, of which seven were against the Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP) and two against Co-operative Incentive Scheme (CIS) officials.
“The people of South Africa deserve a professional service dispersed equitably without fear or favour. Access to finance remains a critical challenge for SMMES and co-operatives, and so we had to act decisively on this matter in order to prevent the possible perpetuation of corruption and further prejudice to SMMES and co-operatives,” Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said.
In August 2017, the department conducted an investigation into incentive schemes CIS and BBSDP following indications of fraud identified through the auditor-general’s regulatory audit, portfolio committee on small business development oversight visits and other observations.
“BBSDP is a cost-sharing grant offered to black-owned small enterprises to assist them to improve their competitiveness and sustainability, while the CIS is a 100% grant for registered primary co-operatives,” department spokesperson Noko Manyelo said.
The forensic report implicated officials in maladministration, misrepresentation of facts, collusion and contravening the programme guidelines and standard operating procedures.
The department said it would be laying criminal charges in cases of possible fraudulent activities against the official, grant applicants and service providers with the SAPS.
“It is unbelievable that the very same foot soldiers that we have entrusted with the responsibility to provide services to our people are the ones sabotaging our mission,” Zulu said.
“Our vision is to radically transform the economy through integrated and effective enterprise development and entrepreneurship promotion, and not corruption. This cannot be tolerated,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, Angola said its sovereign wealth fund had recovered $3.35 billion of assets that were under the management of Quantum Global Investment Management AG, bringing the scandal of alleged corruption and conflict of interest at the state-run investor nearer to a close.
Fundo Soberano de Angola now has control of “all financial and nonfinancial” assets, the state prosecutor’s office said in an emailed statement.
It included about $2.35bn of financial assets held in banks in the UK and Mauritius, and $1bn of real estate holdings in hotels, gold mines, farms and resorts in the country and abroad, it said.
The state prosecutor’s office said prosecutors had dropped all charges against Quantum Global chief executive officer Jean-claude Bastos de Morais and he had been released from prison.
Earlier this week, Angolan President João Lourenço said he was seeking to recoup billions in state assets that were stolen or misappropriated before he took office in 2017.
José Filomeno dos Santos, son of former president José Eduardo dos Santos, used to run the wealth fund but was removed from the role in January 2018, according to court papers.