SIU seizes phones of 10 PSIRA officials over R130m contract
Investigators say R73m was paid upfront on a security training deal where only 2,000 of about 7,000 intended beneficiaries were reached.
The Special Investigating Unit has taken documents, electronic files, devices and cellphones from about 10 key officials as it investigates a R130-million contract at the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, the unit said in an update carried by eNCA (YouTube).
The material was gathered mainly from supply chain management, the area the unit believes holds the paper trail for the deal. Four boxes of documents have been filled, and the seized items are being taken back to the SIU’s offices to be analysed, studied and used to help investigators formulate the evidence the proclamation requires.
Of the R130-million contract value, the unit’s preliminary findings are that R73-million was paid in advance, before the work was done. The unit says about 7,000 people were supposed to benefit from the contract and only about 2,000 did. Even among those who benefited, the unit says there were defects in what they received.
The SIU says it holds the view that this was unlawful and wasteful expenditure that could have been avoided, and that the money was spent because people were intent on making money. That is the unit’s stated position on the evidence so far, not a finding by a court.
The probe now turns on how the money was spent and for what purpose. No person has been named by the unit in this update and no charge has been announced.
Source: eNCA (YouTube), SIU probes R130-million PSIRA contract
