Abe Williams not the only one in scandal

Published Aug 31, 1999

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Jeremy Lawrence

While attention in the Nisec pension pay-out scandal has been concentrated mainly on the fraud and corruption charges against former national Minister of Welfare and Population Development, Abe Williams, the investigation into the other officials involved has recently been completed.

The Office for Serious Economic Offences (Oseo) head, Tommy Prins, said it had been a comprehensive investigation over three years and had involved all the officials at Nisec and former Cape Provincial Administration employees.

"My office is in the process of looking at the case and deciding on whether to go ahead with prosecutions."

The Nisec case involved accusations of corruption relating to the tender process through which a five-year pension pay-out contract valued at R250-million was awarded to the company in 1995.

Two years after Nisec took up its contract, it was found the company could not deliver on its promise to deliver the promised fingerprint identification technology.

This led to an investigation by forensic auditors Ernest and Young, the provincial government and Professor Pieter Le Roux of the University of the Western Cape under the direction of Oseo.

During this investigation provincial officials were accused of inflating competitors tenders, while at the same time decreasing Nisec's figures.

During its attempts to have the Nisec contract cancelled, the provincial administration identified two officials allegedly involved in the fraud, bribery and corruption.

Both left the provincial administration shortly after the contract was awarded to take up positions at Nisec.

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