Eastern Cape education officials, businessman arrested on fraud charges
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested four officials from the Eastern Cape Education Department and a businessman on Monday on charges of fraud, corruption and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act.
CAPE TOWN, May 17 (ANA) – The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested four officials from the Eastern Cape Education Department and a businessman on Monday on charges of fraud, corruption and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said in a statement that former chief education specialist Noxolo Valencia Gwarube, 50, former education superintendent general Mthunywa Lawrence Ngonzo, 58, education deputy director general Monwabisi Raymond Tywakadi, 60, education deputy director in information technology (IT) Tyrone Graig Fourie, 48, and Hermanus Bouwer Smith, 47, the director of Siegesmund Trust, were arrested by the East London Serious Corruption Investigation team.
It is alleged the group defrauded the Eastern Cape Education Department out of cash to the value of R59 million (about US$4.1 million).
The suspects were each granted R5,000 bail.
According to Mgolodela, in 2014, 33 publishers were invited by the department’s Learning and Teaching Support Material unit (LTSM) to showcase their products and an amount was allegedly paid to the Border Christian Centre where the exhibition was held.
She said it was reported that the department had intentions of assisting schools by procuring supplementary resource material (SRM), which included IT material such as photocopiers and other equipment, but not within that financial year.
The LTSM unit under the control of the accounting officer had budgeted for the procurement of textbooks but never applied for the funds and thus the provincial Education Department and provincial treasury were not aware of this.
Mgolodela said it is alleged that former manager of the department’s LTSM unit, Gwarube, misrepresented facts to the department that only textbooks would be procured by submitting expenditure approval to the acting deputy director of institutional operations management.
It was reported that more than R204 million (US$14.3 million) was approved for the procurement of textbooks, while the SRM in the application was misrepresented as textbooks.
“Gwarube is said to have submitted misleading documents to the Internal Control Unit and Supply Chain Management section that the textbooks were to be procured, knowing well that she had included SRM to the value of more than R59 million, thus reducing the money that was meant for textbooks,” Mgolodela said.
She said it has also been alleged that the exhibition fees paid to the centre were R120,468 (US$8,497) and the centre wished to donate this money back to the department.
Gwarube is alleged to have instructed the centre to pay the money into her husband’s account.
The centre requested a letter from the department to authorise the transaction. The letter was drafted by Ngonzo, who was already on suspension at the time.
Gwarube is also alleged to have received gratification from Siegesmund Trust of which Smith was the director, in the form of two laptops and a cellphone, to allegedly ensure that the R59 million for the SRM was paid into Smith’s business account.
“During this orchestration by Gwarube, Tywakadi was the acting superintendent general as Ngonzo was on suspension. Fourie as the IT deputy director was also in office,” Mgolodela said.
Provincial head for the Hawks, Major-General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya, lauded the investigating team for the breakthrough in this matter where disadvantaged children were deprived of the opportunity to own a textbook.
The group is expected back in court on July 8, 2021.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
