The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been relentless in its pursuit of public funds looted from state institutions – whether by politicians, their cronies or high-profile individuals.
Last week saw further evidence of the SIU’s commitment to expose wrongdoing on every level. Tabling its progress report on investigations into funding deals amounting to R1.4bn at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), the SIU named actor Terry Pheto, her sister Dimakatso and fashion designer Thula Sindi as having benefitted from a R5m grant intended for a poultry farm.
The money was paid into a company called Zibisibix, which lists Dimakatso as a director, with the money allegedly transferred into different accounts including Sindi’s company Black Planet Trading.
While Sindi has since said he was paid as a consultant and that he was the subject of a malicious campaign, the SIU is using civil litigation to recover the funds it says were misappropriated.
There is an old saying that goes like, “if you want to know the truth about any deal that is shrouded in allegations of corruption and maladministration, simply follow the money”.
This is the strategy the SIU has been employing in its forensic investigations to uncover alleged abuse of public funds. While the SIU has been efficient and meticulous in its work and uncovering mountains of evidence that has led to the recovery of looted funds, its work has been hampered by sluggish prosecution.
Quite a few criminal referrals for prosecution by the SIU have yet to yield results, which points to inadequate measures to improve prosecutorial performance. It is therefore not surprising that 11 months after Pheto’s Bryanston, Johannesburg, house was forfeited to the state and auctioned because it was acquired with proceeds from the NLC, which were meant for drug rehabilitation, she is yet to be charged.
The public is desperate to see prosecutions arising from SIU investigations into the shenanigans at NLC, and these expectations have been amplified by the latest revelations the misappropriation of funds.
We renew this public expectation that more ought to be done from the prosecution side to bring to book those responsible for stealing money meant for the poor the NLC
SOWETAN | Sluggish NPA letting SIU down
Image: FREDDY MAVUNDA
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been relentless in its pursuit of public funds looted from state institutions – whether by politicians, their cronies or high-profile individuals.
Last week saw further evidence of the SIU’s commitment to expose wrongdoing on every level. Tabling its progress report on investigations into funding deals amounting to R1.4bn at the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), the SIU named actor Terry Pheto, her sister Dimakatso and fashion designer Thula Sindi as having benefitted from a R5m grant intended for a poultry farm.
The money was paid into a company called Zibisibix, which lists Dimakatso as a director, with the money allegedly transferred into different accounts including Sindi’s company Black Planet Trading.
While Sindi has since said he was paid as a consultant and that he was the subject of a malicious campaign, the SIU is using civil litigation to recover the funds it says were misappropriated.
There is an old saying that goes like, “if you want to know the truth about any deal that is shrouded in allegations of corruption and maladministration, simply follow the money”.
This is the strategy the SIU has been employing in its forensic investigations to uncover alleged abuse of public funds. While the SIU has been efficient and meticulous in its work and uncovering mountains of evidence that has led to the recovery of looted funds, its work has been hampered by sluggish prosecution.
Quite a few criminal referrals for prosecution by the SIU have yet to yield results, which points to inadequate measures to improve prosecutorial performance. It is therefore not surprising that 11 months after Pheto’s Bryanston, Johannesburg, house was forfeited to the state and auctioned because it was acquired with proceeds from the NLC, which were meant for drug rehabilitation, she is yet to be charged.
The public is desperate to see prosecutions arising from SIU investigations into the shenanigans at NLC, and these expectations have been amplified by the latest revelations the misappropriation of funds.
We renew this public expectation that more ought to be done from the prosecution side to bring to book those responsible for stealing money meant for the poor the NLC
'I was consulting and was paid, this is a malicious campaign': Designer Thula Sindi on SIU investigation
Actress Terry Pheto, designer Thula Sindi named in chicken farm lotteries embezzlement report
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