The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has refused to be drawn to comment on whether it would be taking any action against its chairperson Dondo Mogajane after he was implicated in the looting of VBS Mutual Bank.
In an affidavit leaked on Thursday, convicted former chairman of VBS Tshifhiwa Matodzi alleged that Mogajane accepted a R1 million “gratification” when he was director-general of National Treasury in order to allow the defunct bank to continue taking municipalities’ deposits in contravention of the law.
Mogajane was appointed chairperson of the board of the GEPF in July, 2022 after spending 23 years at National Treasury, five of which he served as director-general.
The GEPF is the largest pension fund in Africa with more than R2.3 trillion in assets under its management. It has around 1.2 million active members, and about 500 000 pensioners, and beneficiaries.
“The Government Employees Pension Fund is aware of an affidavit made by the former VBS chairperson and the contents thereof,” the fund said in a statement over the weekend.
“The GEPF will not comment at this stage about the contents of the affidavit including reference made to the GEPF chairperson, as the matter is part of a legal process. The GEPF chairperson has publicly issued a statement in his personal capacity on the matter.”
On Friday, Mogajane vehemently denied the allegations, saying he was one of the people who “stopped Matodzi in his tracks, and prevented VBS from pilfering South Africa any further”.
Matodzi had claimed that the R1m bribe to Mogajane was to facilitate the withdrawal of the circular issued by National Treasury in August, 2017 warning municipalities that deposits made at a mutual bank contravened municipal finance regulations, and were not allowed.
According to Matodzi, Mogajane had promised to grant VBS a special 18-month dispensation to continue accepting municipal investments, during which it was in the process of getting a commercial banking licence.
In terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act, municipalities cannot make deposits with institutions that are not regulated as per the Banks Act.
Mogajane said he reiterated to Matodzi at every meeting he held with Matodzi that as a mutual bank, VBS was established under the Mutual Banks Act and as such, any municipal deposits with the bank were illegal.
“I categorically deny that I have ever received corrupt monies or bribes. As evidence of the stance that both myself and the National Treasury took against Matodzi and VBS, all filed affidavits, statements, minutes of meetings, circulars, and general records dating as far back as 2017 are with the relevant authorities,” Mogajane said.
“In fact, my colleagues and I became so alarmed by the actions of VBS Bank that I filed an answering affidavit against it in November, 2017 wherein I confirmed National Treasury’s stance against the intentions of VBS in continuing to take municipal deposits,” he said.
In an emailed reply to Business Report’s enquiries, National Treasury yesterday did not address the allegations against Mogajane, but opted to detail what it had done:
These included issuing communications to the implicated municipalities drawing their attention to the regulations that do not permit investing in mutual banks; opposing VBS’s court interdict against National Treasury from issuing instructions to municipalities not to invest in mutual banks; approving recommendations to place the bank under curatorship; communication for consequence management to all affected municipalities; as well as support for the investigation into the VBS scandal by advocate Terry Motau, SC.
“Since 2016, the National Treasury has taken concrete steps to end unlawful investments made by municipalities into VBS Bank and hold to account those that committed corruption at VBS Bank as well as those that have profited from these illegal actions,” Treasury said.
“The commitment by the National Treasury to hold to account those that committed corruption at VBS Bank as well as those that have profited from these illegal actions continues today. Our officials continue to provide evidence, submit affidavits and serve as witnesses in the ongoing prosecutions of those perpetrators implicated in the heist at VBS Bank,” it stated.
BUSINESS REPORT