The Special Tribunal has frozen the pension fund of the former CFO of the Department of Agriculture, land reform and rural development, Jacob Hlatshwayo, pending civil proceedings against him.
Early in December, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) successfully petitioned the Special Tribunal to interdict the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) from paying benefits to Hlatshwayo.
In a virtual hearing on Friday, Judge Lebogang Modiba granted an order interdicting the GEPF from paying Hlatshwayo’s pension benefits.
Modiba extended the rule nisi granted on December 17 2020 to March 8 for Hlatshwayo to show why the interim order should not be made final.
Hlatshwayo was also ordered to pay the legal costs of opposing the extension application. This is after he raised technical issues with the extension of the rule nisi.
Hlatshwayo is allegedly implicated in procurement misconduct related to Covid-19. The SIU told the tribunal it intends instituting civil proceedings against Hlatshwayo to recover the losses incurred by the state as a result of his alleged misconduct.
The order follows the SIU investigation into the department’s alleged irregular awarding of a personal protective equipment (PPE) contract.
During the investigation, the SIU identified certain officials as involved in the alleged irregularities, one being the former CFO.
If the former agriculture CFO thinks he’s going on pension, he’s mistaken
