Former Lottery government loses court docket bid to access his pension
Former Lottery government loses court docket bid to access his pension
Blog Article
The Distinctive Tribunal has dismissed an application by Marubini Ramatsekisa, former Nationwide Lotteries Fee Main danger officer, to have use of his R1.7-million pension reward.
The Preliminary order blocking access was granted in December 2023.
The choose dismissed Ramatsekisa’s application to hold the order rescinded.
The Special Investigating Device has fingered Ramatsekisa for his position within a R4-million grant to a shelf enterprise, Zibsicraft, for the research to aid the development with the Khoisan language.
R2.two-million of this, the SIU claims, went to purchase residence for the upper Grace Christ Redeemer Church, represented by former NLC Board chair Alfred Nevhutanda, and his wife.
Former Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) Main risk officer Marubini Ramatsekisa has failed in his bid to overturn an purchase because of the Special Tribunal blocking access to his pension funds.
The initial ruay order was granted in December 2023 adhering to allegations that Ramatsekisa orchestrated a plan that resulted within the NLC shedding about R4-million. He was suspended in September 2022 and subsequently resigned.
Ramatsekisa sought to rescind or change this order, proclaiming it had been sought “erroneously” and granted in his absence.
But Distinctive Tribunal member Choose David Makhoba has dismissed his software and verified the interdict granted in favour of your Distinctive Investigating Device (SIU).
Examine the judgment
Decide Makhoba also ruled that Ramatsekisa should spend The prices of the applying.
In his modern judgment, he explained the SIU had attained an purchase preserving the pension benefit, about R1.seven-million, held by Liberty Daily life subsequent an ex parte (without notice to the opposite side) application.
The premise for your interdict was that he experienced caused a loss of R4-million into the NLC.
It was alleged that Ramatsekisa geared up a proposal for “proactive funding” to perform a research to help the event of your KhoiSan language.
The funding — R4 million — was awarded to an organization named Zibsicraft.
The SIU alleges that Ramatsekisa lied about contacting a stakeholder in the Department of Arts and Culture and he didn't ensure that Zibsicraft’s software for grant funding went in the usual procedures. He did not ensure that the people today associated with that organisation experienced any backlinks to the KhoiSan Local community or had at any time carried out any do the job linked to the community.
Judge Makhoba claimed the SIU had also alleged that Ramatsekisa had utilised exactly the same strategy in awarding a R5.five-million grant for developing cricket inside the Northern Cape.
These funding initiatives weren't assessed, evaluated or adjudicated by a distributing company, but by former NLC Chief Operations Officer Phillemon Letwaba and himself.
Letwaba signed the grant agreement on behalf of the NLC and Ramatsekisa signed as his witness.
Ramatesekisa submitted that the interdict should be reconsidered and put aside.
He reported there was no proof that he had colluded Using the NLC to siphon money from it. He experienced only carried out his administrative obligations plus the SIU had not made out a scenario that he was an “active and eager facilitator”.
Judge Makhoba reported in these programs, the proof contained within the SIU software was “considered from scratch”. The examination was whether or not the SIU had created out a very good case to the interdict it received during the ex parte software.
He said there were “shortcomings” within the method during which Ramatesekisa had dealt with the funding from the Zibsicraft make a difference. Zibsicraft had no credible monetary statements, normal procedures were not followed, and the so-called “Khoisan Local community url” did not exist.
“The proof prior to me implies the grant resources were not useful for the intended intent and exhibits a prima facie circumstance that the applicant facilitated the unlawful grant awards. He did not gainsay the factual allegations made in opposition to him,” Choose Makhoba said.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago mentioned the First interdict were attained “quickly” following Ramatsekisa resigned and wrote to his pension fund administrator, providing observe that he intended to withdraw his pension reward.
Working with the allegations, he claimed shortly following the proactive funding was permitted for that Khoisan task, three individuals obtained and became directors of Zibsicraft non-gain organisation, a dormant, shelf corporation. Ten times later, the company designed an application for that funding.
“The application was accompanied by economical statements well prepared with the periods ending 28 February 2018 and 28 February 2019. Having said that, the non-earnings organisation only opened a checking account on 19 March 2019, 6 times prior to it utilized for funding,” Kganyago claimed.
“The SIU uncovered that from the R4-million, R2.2-million allegedly went in the direction of getting residence for just a church named the upper Grace Christ Redeemer Church. The previous NLC Board Chairperson, Alfred Nevhutanda, and his wife, Mrs Tshilidzi Rachel Nevhutanda, represented the church inside the supply to get it.”
He mentioned the SIU also intended to institute civil proceedings versus Ramatsekisa to Get well damages suffered from the NLC because of his perform.