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Bomb attack on Goodman Gcaba may be related to his decision to institute disciplinary action against forestry entity’s managers
In the early hours of Valentine’s Day, a petrol bomb exploded at Goodman Gcaba’s house in Mbombela.
Gcaba, the general manager of forestry at the state-owned SA Forestry Company Limited (Safcol), should be doing a job that involves nothing more dramatic than watching the state’s R3.6 billion worth of commercial forests grow.
Instead, he is now living in fear for his life.
According to various senior sources within Safcol, Gcaba has moved out of his home and is living in an undisclosed location.
He is also reportedly under 24-hour armed guard.
City Press understands the attack on Gcaba is related to his decision to institute disciplinary action against Safcol managers implicated in possibly corrupt activities.
Forensic reports detail how Safcol overpaid by millions on certain contracts, how one of its senior managers received a massive discount on a vehicle from a company that scored millions in contracts and how a private company was allowed to use its workshops and equipment free of charge.
Although Gcaba was not injured in the attack – a few roof tiles and the garage door were burnt – City Press has learnt that intelligence agencies have become involved in the investigation.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said a case of malicious damage to property had been opened after the bomb went off on February 14, but no one had been arrested yet.
As a state-owned enterprise, Safcol falls under the control of Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.
Through its various subsidiaries, it has more than 187 000 hectares of mostly pine forests under its control in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.
It grows and harvests pine trees and sells timber products.
After a few tough years, Safcol achieved more than R500 million in net profits last year.
The forestry entity has largely stayed under the radar, overshadowed by problems at other state-owned entities such as Eskom, SAA and the SA Post Office.
However, numerous confidential forensic reports, which City Press has in its possession and which were produced by audit firm Alchemy Consolidated Holdings, unearthed widespread tender irregularities and mismanagement running into millions of rands.
. A November 2014 report highlights how Safcol paid R9.8 million to a company, largely for vehicle repairs between 2006 and 2014, despite the company having no written contract or tender. As a result of the company not being registered for VAT, Safcol lost out on R1.3 million in VAT claims.
. A December 2014 report found a handful of companies belonging to a businessman in Limpopo received overpayments of R15 million. In one instance, the businessman was paid R22 million for a contract worth just R9 million.
. The same report found one of the senior managers who signed off on the overpayments bought a Land Rover valued at R49 700 for just R8 000 from the same Limpopo businessman who benefited from overpayments.
. The report recommended that Safcol open a case of fraud or corruption with the police and that it should investigate the possibility of recovering costs from its employees and the contractor.
. An August 2014 report found a private company was allowed to use Safcol’s workshops and equipment for free. The report estimated a market-related fee for this service would have been about R138 000.
. An April 2014 report found evidence that a major transport company was manipulating a black-owned transport company it was supposed to be mentoring by accessing its emails, dictating which contracts it could bid for, performing work and receiving payment from Safcol under the black-owned company’s name.
. A March 2014 report found that there had been manipulation of Safcol’s tender processes to award a R1.2 million contract to the big transport company.
Sources City Press spoke to believe it was this report, relating to the R1.2 million transport tender and Gcaba’s decision to implement disciplinary proceedings against a Safcol employee, that led to the attack on his house.
In terms of Safcol procurement regulations, any tender for more than R100 000 is supposed to go out for open bidding, but due to the need to move timber urgently, Safcol’s management instead decided to source quotes directly from potential suppliers.
The forensic report reached the conclusion that the decision to award the contract to the transport company was made before the second company was even asked to provide a quote. The report recommended that Safcol consider disciplinary action against the manager for “gross dishonesty” and “abuse of position and authority”.
Insiders told City Press that when Gcaba tried to implement recommendations of the March 2014 Alchemy report, he was prevented from taking action against those implicated after legal opinion countering the Alchemy findings was obtained by Safcol.
The forestry entity, however, denies that it failed to take action when allegations of corruption emerged.
“In relation to the forensic investigations that have been conducted, Safcol can confirm that we are undertaking the necessary steps with the institution of disciplinary action against certain employees,” senior human resources executive Julia Mphafudi said on Friday.
Mphafudi wouldn’t provide any further details, saying these processes were confidential and ongoing.
However, Brown appears to be dissatisfied with how the executive is handling the allegations of corruption at Safcol and has demanded that the board investigate further.
Department of public enterprises spokesperson Colin Cruywagen said: “Minister Brown has received a whistle-blower’s report that contains allegations about Safcol. She has met the board of Safcol and requested them to investigate the matter and provide her with a report.”
City Press has reliably learnt that Brown, frustrated with the lack of action from Safcol, has now instituted her own independent forensic investigation to get to the bottom of what is happening at the company.
Both Cruywagen and Mphafudi said they were not aware of the latest step by the minister.
Though it is not clear what mandate Brown has given the forensic investigators, City Press understands that the probe could also include failure by the Safcol executive and board to act on the various forensic reports
