The new board of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) has served chief working officer Phillemon Letwaba with discover of their intention to droop him.
This discover, delivered final week, comes after an earlier inner inquiry cleared Letwaba of cash laundering and abusing his place to enrich himself and his household.
Letwaba is anticipated to be suspended as early as this week. He was additionally knowledgeable that he would face the identical 4 fees on which he was beforehand cleared. GroundUp additionally understands that new fees could be added.
An NLC supply stated that the new board had requested NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampana to droop Letwaba, however stated that she didn’t adjust to their directions. This apparently led the board to take the matter into its personal palms.
This would be the third time that Letwaba has been suspended. In March 2020, he was pressured to take a depart of absence on full pay. He returned to work round July 2021, having earned over R3-million throughout his 17-month absence.
ALSO READ: SIU: National Lotteries Commission swindled tens of millions meant for neighborhood upliftment
In October 2021, lower than three months later, he was once more suspended on full pay. He returned to work in March 2022, having earned shut to R1.5-million throughout this absence. Just 4 months later, he has been despatched one other letter of intention to droop him.
At the primary disciplinary inquiry, Letwaba was accused of battle of curiosity and utilizing entrance corporations to funnel cash from non-profit corporations that acquired Lottery grants.
Charges in opposition to him additionally included contraventions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, in addition to sections of the Lotteries Act and the Public Finance Management Act. He pleaded not responsible to all fees.
GroundUp understands that Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel, who has oversight of the Lottery, in addition to the NLC’s new board had considerations about how the primary disciplinary inquiry was carried out.
Shortly after Letwaba was cleared of the costs, Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Andy Mothibi advised the Parliamentary Trade and Industry Portfolio Committee that he too had reservations about the best way the disciplinary listening to was carried out.
“The SIU will study the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and will chart the way forward thereafter,” Mothibi advised Parliament.
He stated the SIU had, thus far, recognized proof that R300-million in Lottery grants had been misappropriated.
Lawyers performing for the new board, who scrutinised each the proof and the end result of the primary inquiry, have spent weeks engaged on the new cost sheet.
The first disciplinary listening to was chaired by advocate Chris Erasmus and held at his Pretoria places of work between 19 and 27 January this yr.
Only two witnesses have been known as – Letwaba and Humbulani Gideon Funyufunyu, a chief forensic investigator for the SIU.
Letwaba pleaded not responsible however admitted that some corporations involving his household had been contracted as service suppliers on Lottery-funded tasks.
ALSO READ: Investigation reveals former Lottery Commission board member’s tens of millions linked to grants
He argued that these corporations had not benefited instantly from Lottery funding and that the Lotteries Act didn’t preclude them from doing enterprise with grant beneficiaries.
Letwaba was initially charged after Mothibi formally knowledgeable Commissioner Mampane in writing of proof of misconduct by Letwaba.
Letwaba, he stated, was responsible of misconduct or breach of belief by accepting monetary advantages of round R45-million by way of a number of entities linked to his household.
There was additionally proof that Letwaba had been concerned in conflicts of curiosity that contravened the Lotteries Act, he advised Mampane.
In his ruling clearing Letwaba, Erasmus stated that “there is no policy in place at the NLC” stopping family of its workers or entities managed by them from conducting enterprise “with any entity or entities that received funding” from the NLC.
Erasmus stated that proof by Funyufunyu was primarily based on “assumptions” and wouldn’t “suffice”.
Erasmus stated that a lot of Letwaba’s proof was “left unchallenged” throughout his cross-examination, as a result of counsel for the NLC “had no instruction or information at his disposal” to contradict Letwaba’s proof.
However, not too long ago a few of the proof offered by Funyufunyu’s at Letwaba’s disciplinary listening to was accepted by a Special Tribunal choose, when the court docket granted a preservation order involving a dodgy R19-million Lottery grant for an athletics monitor.
This article first appeared on GroundUp and was republished with permission. Read the unique article here.