Johannesburg - Two Sassa pension beneficiaries, who are directors of companies that received over R140 million from the SAPS contract, have been charged with fraud.
On Tuesday, the Investigating Directorate charged two Sassa pension recipients with perjury, fraud, theft, and contravention of the Social Assistance Act for having received the older persons' indigent grant while being sole directors of companies that were awarded tenders allegedly worth millions from the SAPS.
Sarathamoney Sigamoney, 66, and Salamina Khoza, 68, have both been arraigned at the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court for having defrauded Sassa.
Investigating Directorate national spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said Sigamoney is accused of having defrauded Sassa of more than R123 000 and Salamina Khoza of more than R152 000.
Sigamoney was arrested this morning, while Khoza was summoned to appear as she had previously been arrested on similar charges.
Seboka said on April 13, 2017, that Sigamoney applied to Sassa, stating that she had never worked for a period of 20 years. The application was approved, and she is alleged to have received money from Sassa.
Prior to submitting her application to the Department of Social Development in Gauteng, Sigamoney submitted a similar application in KwaZulu-Natal, and it was declined.
According to Seboka, despite the fact that she is listed as the director of KJP Traders Pty with Matthew Pillay (her son), KJP is accused of doing business with the state as early as 2012, prior to her application to Sassa.
Furthermore, the company is estimated to have cashed in on over R80 million from a SAPS Furniture contract.
Seboka said the second case pertains to Khoza, who is alleged to have applied to Sassa on September 14, 2014, stating that she had no steady source of income and that she was surviving on R400 per month through selling perishables.
On September 22, 2014, the application was approved.
"At the time the accused applied for the old age grant, she was already the sole director of three companies registered on the central supplier database (CSD) of the National Treasury. The companies are Isasalethu Construction and Office Consumables Pty Ltd, Sifikile Furniture and Projects Pty Ltd, and Siyanqoba Trading and Projects Pty Ltd. According to the Police Financial Systems (POLFIN) of the SAPS, the three companies are recipients of various amounts of money that were paid to them by the SAPS because they had tendered with the police services.
"Between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2022, Khoza is accused of having received R152.125 from Sassa while allegedly receiving over R60 million from her three companies. Khoza did not have any authority to transact on the accounts held by her companies. Kishene Chetty was the sole signatory on the accounts. Khoza was fronting for Chetty, who was the beneficial owner of the three companies," Seboka said.
The case against Sigamoney has been postponed to February 10, 2023, and she has been granted R5000 bail.
She has been notified to hand in her travel documents and not apply for any new ones. The other case against Khoza has been postponed to March 23, 2023, for pre-trial.
ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za
The Star