The presidency has confirmed that just one of the 467 suppliers recommended for blacklisting by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been added to the National Treasury’s blacklist.
This was disclosed during a briefing to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday, where senior officials presented the Presidency’s consolidated tracking of SIU investigation outcomes, disciplinary referrals, and supplier restriction requests.
Presidency official Jonathan Timm said 1,278 people had been flagged for disciplinary action after SIU investigations conducted under presidential proclamations.
“We record 370 as finalised, 608 are in progress and there are 300 individuals for whom we are waiting for information in terms of progress from organs of state,” he said.
Of the finalised cases, 44 officials were dismissed, while 55 resigned before disciplinary processes could be concluded. Several others were found guilty and subjected to lesser sanctions, including demotion, suspension without pay and written warnings.
They included one acting head of department, three municipal managers, three acting deputy directors-general, 12 chief directors, and four chief financial officers.
Timm said the SIU had recommended 467 people and companies for blacklisting, though only one had been listed.
“SIU referrals for supplier restriction are not consistently reaching the restricted supplier database,” which was due to uneven departmental responses, delays in processing and resignations before disciplinary proceedings, he said.
Digital co-ordination platform in development
The presidency was working with the SIU, the State Information Technology Agency, and the National Prosecuting Authority to develop a digital co-ordination platform to track referrals and outcomes more effectively.
Deputy minister in the presidency Kenny Morolong said the responsibility for initiating supplier restrictions rests with accounting officers, as prescribed by the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act.
“That is why the National Treasury is developing regulations to ensure this responsibility does not lie solely with accounting officers, but that the National Treasury is able to deal with the debarment of suppliers,” he said.
Concerns over lack of consequence management
Scopa chairperson Songezo Zibi expressed concern over the lack of consequence management. “It seems unbelievable that the presidency will be awaiting information on 300 cases. Why do these get ignored?” he said.
Zibi also questioned the absence of deterrence. “People ought to have a level of fear for the presidency, and I don’t feel it in your presentations today.”
EFF MP Veronica Mente-Nkuna said the committee expected SIU recommendations to be implemented and tracked. “It’s either the presidency recommends strong training for officials or removes people, in particular those implicated in malfeasance, maladministration, and corruption,” she said.
Tracking SIU proclamations and investigations
The presidency reported that 33 SIU proclamations have been authorised since November 2024, bringing the total to 309 since 2001.
Of these, 55 were issued under the current administration. They include investigations into procurement irregularities in infrastructure, education, health, and disaster management sectors.
In response to concerns about resignations before disciplinary action, Timm said the presidency was establishing a central register to track dismissals and resignations linked to pending investigations.
“This is a challenge that we are seeking to address to ensure that those officials are charged should they return to the public administration,” he said.
The 2014 cabinet directive requiring the vetting of all officials involved in supply chain management remains unevenly implemented.
The presidency acknowledged that compliance is inconsistent and that capacity constraints within the State Security Agency and departmental HR units continue to impede full rollout.
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