ActionSA Demands Answers For Government Pensions Agency’s Reported Ghost Contracts
Press Statement by Athol Trollip MP
ActionSA Parliamentary Leader
Today, ActionSA has formally written to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana expressing serious concern over disturbing revelations contained in the News24 investigation titled “Ghost contract: No building, but govt pensions agency paid R270 million for lavish refurb”.
The investigation exposes how the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund, reportedly paid tens of millions of rands for refurbishment work on a building to which it has no legal access. Shockingly, payments of over R60 million were made to contractors for work linked to a lease agreement that appears to be invalid and possibly fictitious.
These alleged transactions raise serious questions about governance, accountability, and oversight within the GPAA, a body entrusted with safeguarding the pension savings of thousands of public servants.
As the executive authority responsible for the GPAA, Minister Godongwana must urgently clarify:
Whether these payments were authorised in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and if your office was aware or approved them;
Whether these expenditures were reported to National Treasury and if internal compliance units were informed;
What remedial actions are underway to recover any misused funds, investigate the circumstances leading to these payments, and strengthen controls to prevent future abuses.
Government employees deserve confidence that their retirement savings are managed with the utmost integrity and prudence. Allegations of irregular and unauthorised spending erode this trust and cannot be ignored.
ActionSA demands a full, transparent explanation from the Minister within seven calendar days. Failure to do so will leave us no choice but to escalate this matter in Parliament and to appropriate oversight bodies.
We owe it to South Africans and the hardworking public servants who contribute to this fund to ensure their money is protected, not wasted through possible corruption or gross mismanagement.
ActionSA Demands Answers For Government Pensions Agency’s Reported Ghost Contracts
Today, ActionSA has formally written to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana expressing serious concern over disturbing revelations contained in the News24 investigation titled “Ghost contract: No building, but govt pensions agency paid R270 million for lavish refurb”.
The investigation exposes how the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), which manages the Government Employees Pension Fund, reportedly paid tens of millions of rands for refurbishment work on a building to which it has no legal access. Shockingly, payments of over R60 million were made to contractors for work linked to a lease agreement that appears to be invalid and possibly fictitious.
These alleged transactions raise serious questions about governance, accountability, and oversight within the GPAA, a body entrusted with safeguarding the pension savings of thousands of public servants.
As the executive authority responsible for the GPAA, Minister Godongwana must urgently clarify:
Government employees deserve confidence that their retirement savings are managed with the utmost integrity and prudence. Allegations of irregular and unauthorised spending erode this trust and cannot be ignored.
ActionSA demands a full, transparent explanation from the Minister within seven calendar days. Failure to do so will leave us no choice but to escalate this matter in Parliament and to appropriate oversight bodies.
We owe it to South Africans and the hardworking public servants who contribute to this fund to ensure their money is protected, not wasted through possible corruption or gross mismanagement.