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After hearing the testimony of former chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services Dennis Bloem, state capture commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has finally urged the commission’s investigative team to verify some of the allegations and recommend that relevant authorities step in and take action to stop the rot.
This order came after Bloem informed the commission that the department of correctional services has been in a dire state for almost two decades.
“Should the state capture commission’s investigative team look deeper into the department’s state of affairs it would uncover corruption and fraud far exceeding that which has already been uncovered before the commission so far,” Bloem said.
Now COPE spokesperson, Bloem made this allegation as he took over the baton from former Bosasa chief operational officer, Angelo Agrizzi and other whistle-blowers – former and current workers at the facilities management company – who have also painted a troubling picture of the relationship between Bosasa and the correctional services.
Bloem sat on the correctional services committee for about two decades. He joined the committee in 1994 and in 2004 was appointed chair of the portfolio committee until 2009, while he was still a member of the ANC.
After joining COPE he again took up a seat within the committee until 2014.
Addressing the commission, Bloem said the “havoc” at the correctional services ran deeper than Bosasa.
“Before [former correctional services boss] Linda Mti, there was Khulekani Sithole. Under him there was also havoc. If investigators can go back and check what has happened they will find more damning things than this Bosasa [scandal], in relation to corruption under the leadership of Sithole,” said Bloem.
Mti, who was appointed as commissioner of the department in 2000, has been implicated by Agrizzi and other whistle-blowers who formerly worked for the facilities management company.
Bloem, however, told the commission that the rot did not start nor end with Mti.
“I raised many things in meetings [with then correctional services minister Ngconde Balfour], talking about these problems and it was never addressed. His attitude was to let us leave the department to sort out those problems. There are minutes to this effect, chairperson,” Bloem testified.
He added that during his tenure, which spanned two decades on the correctional services’ oversight committee, the department always had qualified audit reports, “year in year out, this was the case”.
Alluding to all the wasteful expenditure and looting that was taking place, Bloem said, “It was a free for all that was happening at the department”.
He added that, “there was no need for the outsourcing of duties done by the correctional services, which included awarding Bosasa in 2004 the prisons catering tender”.
He added that the inmates continued to perform the cooking duties and there was never any stuff brought in by Bosasa after they were awarded this tender.
He also questioned why the department paid for food and other produce that Bosasa allegedly supplied when the department of correctional services had its own farms for meat and supplies.
Zondo asked whether Bosasa did provide the food to the non-existent workers the company was being paid for, the produce already being received from the numerous farms already owned and run by the department.
“We have been asking this same question for years now without getting a proper answer. We have even taken this to Parliament and there has been no clear response,” responded Bloem.
This led to Zondo issuing a directive to the commission’s legal team to look into the veracity of the allegations made by Bloem.
“I hope the investigator can establish that whether, as we speak, that is still the position with regards to the catering contract.
“If Mr Bloem’s evidence is true and is corroborated, then maybe some urgent steps need to be taken by the relevant authorities,” Zondo ordered.
He added that this was “concerning, in terms of taxpayers’ money,” should it be proven that it was being spent for non-existent services.
Bloem maintained that this was the case as he had visited numerous prisons during his tenure on the correctional services oversight committee.
“When we went on a site visit we saw that there was just one office and one employee from Bosasa, while prisoners continued to cater for themselves,” said Bloem.
He approached the commission with a request to give evidence regarding the irregular working relationship between Bosasa and top officials at the correctional services department.
