Minister orders probe into shambles at the post office

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri on Friday promised "no individual will be spared", as she announced details of a far-reaching probe into the turbulence and infighting at the SA Post Office.

The turmoil at the board of the Post Office and allegations of corruption at the top have threatened to undo the improvements in service in recent years as it finally returned to profitability after years of wallowing deep in the red.

Matsepe-Casaburri stepped in this week to calm tensions at the Post Office board which had simmered in recent weeks, but boiled over last week when CEO Khutso Mampeule was "suspended" from his post after he refused to take a "leave of absence".

Bickering has been the order of the day since news surfaced two months ago that Mampeule had laid a criminal complaint against his predecessor, Maanda Manyatshe, over tender irregularities.

While some board members are understood to have been angered by the gung-ho manner in which Mampeule laid the complaint against Manyatshe, others are firmly behind Mampeule and his self-appointed role as "Mr Clean", ridding the Post Office of corruption.

This week, Post Office chairwoman Phuti Tsukudu newsconfirmed news reports that three of the 14-member board had quit, ostensibly due to their unhappiness with the decision to suspend Mampeule.

Those directors were Marthinus Crous, Jackie Lange and Phumeza Dzingwe. While Tsukudu confirmed that Matsepe-Casaburri had "accepted their resignation upon their request", she said that they had "all approached the end of their terms of appointment" in any event.

On Friday, Matsepe-Casaburri revealed details of a probe that will be far wider than initially expected, and will see an independent forensic company tackle the entire mess, from board divisions to problems with morale.

Her office said "no individual will be spared if they are found to have been involved in any unlawful actions", as the "interests and investments that government has made in the Post Office will be protected".

The person she appointed to do the probe is Andrew Maralack of auditing firm SizweNtsaluba VSP Forensics to investigate the matter. Maralack is also a director on the board of the SA Broadcasting Corporation, another under-fire institution that falls under Matsepe-Casaburri's portfolio.

There will be two-prongs to the probe. Firstly, Maralack will investigate "governance issues", a broad topic that is expected to include the allegations against Manyatshe, the manner in which they were made, conflicts of interest at the board level, and the counter-allegations against Mampeule.

Next will be a look at management issues, including low staff morale. Matsepe-Casaburri said the probe would be treated urgently "to avoid lowering of staff morale and to restore corporate governance".

Manyatshe is alleged that as CEO he bypassed proper procedures to ensure a company called Vision Design House was appointed to conceive and build the "new design" Post Offices around the country. The company then apparently charged 285% more than they should have. Due to the allegations, and the criminal complaint, Manyatshe quit his position as the SA managing director of cellular company MTN two weeks ago. But he said he is drawing up a R100m claim against Mampeule and the Post Office.

The allegations against Mampeule were that he also bypassed procedures in putting together an insurance joint-venture called Post Sure, without checking government. When he was suspended, Tsukudu said this was because he "appeared to undermine the board's authority and his impartiality was called into question in dealing with the forensic audit the board has commissioned". That forensic audit was meant to investigate all the alleged tender irregularities at the Post Office.

Tsukudu's spokesman Albi Modise said there was no definitive end-date for the probe. "That's a bit of a challenge, because we're not sure how much (the investigation) will unearth. There are a whole lot of issues on the table," he said. "There have been allegations and counter-allegations made and, … the investigation will get to the heart of the matter," he said.

Tsukudu said the investigation "will include, but is not limited to, the allegations of all parties, corporate governance issues as well as management actions."

Although Mampeuele was to have undergone a disciplinary process, it now seems that inquiry will take place as part of Matsepe-Casaburri's probe, according to Tsukudu.

This week, Mampeule welcomed the probe and said he couldn't wait "to get back to work. I respect the process, and welcome the announcement by the minister, which will give me the opportunity to deal with issues in an appropriate way."

Manyatshe, through his auditor Bart Henderson, welcomed the minister's probe. "It has already been widely publicised that (Manyatshe) did not benefit in any way from the matter of Vision Design House. If anything this investigation should serve to restore his good name," Henderson said.