Johannesburg - Revelations of corruption and maladministration at the Department of Defence’s Intelligence Unit have once again come to light.
Late last year, an investigation by The Star uncovered that Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Defence Intelligence Division chief Jeremia Nyembe, Defence Intelligence chief director Bongani Ngcobo and Defence Intelligence budget manager LMS Luke had a case to answer to after a leaked report linked the department’s top guns to a looting spree at the South African National Defence Force.
Corruption at the Defence Intelligence division has cost the taxpayer more than R4 billion.
The investigation was commissioned by the department to investigate allegations of corruption into itself. The investigation also revealed that a Defence Intelligence division’s fund was looted in 2018 and found gross corruption on the upgrading and repairs of facilities by the Department of Public Works, acquisition of special defence equipment, corruption at the defence attaché and “corrupt persons” connected to the minister.
The report, which was never made public, also found corruption in the recruitment and enlistment process, the work attendance register, corrupt procurement deals and a bizarre cybersecurity training tender. Saber Technologies, a company that provided the cybersecurity training, was given 50% of its payment before the training began.
On October 18, 2018, X Tshofela, titled as director of geospatial intelligence, signed a motivational letter for the tender's approval. According to the motivation, the projected cost of the training was R55 177 340.
A total of R22 588 670 was paid in advance, without quotations delivered, and the tender was approved without due process. No other companies entered the bid, and approval was first signed by a Defence Intelligence boss, and not procurement.
This week, The Star found that some people in the unit’s top brass received faked security clearances. According to Defence Intelligence policy, an individual with a criminal record cannot be appointed to a position in finance. The Star can reveal that two people in the finance department have criminal records. The Star has sent them questions, and two have odd qualifications. The Star will reveal their names once they have answered the questions.
The Star has made another startling discovery. Vianna Security, a company hired as a service provider for IT security, is also the company that was the beneficiary of a slush payment of R40.4 million to secretly manage the Beitbridge border arms safety programme. The programme was designed to “keep an eye” on potential criminals crossing into South Africa from Zimbabwe.
On investigation, The Star found that Vianna was not a tax-paying company and is not registered on any other government database. The border safety programme would have been so intricate that it would have needed specialised intelligence knowledge. The Star has not been able to ascertain if Vianna ever did the work, as no proof of quotations and invoices appeared. In the event that Vianna was a covert name for the special operation, it would not use the same name as an IT security company. Vianna’s supposed business premises in Randburg, Johannesburg, was a small accounting recruitment company. The company personnel said they had never heard of Vianna Security.
The Star