The Special Investigation Unit has successfully recovered about R2 billion owed to the state following investigations stemming from presidential proclamations, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has revealed.
Speaking virtually before the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday, Kubayi provided an update on the corruption-busting unit’s progress in clawing back funds lost to irregular and unlawful conduct.
Presidential proclamations and recovery model
The minister said that as of 7 August, President Cyril Ramaphosa had gazetted 84 proclamations since 1 April 2024, which formed the basis for SIU investigations.
Kubayi explained that the SIU’s recovery model is based on legal reviews and the consideration of a just and equitable remedy, applying the no-loss, no-profit principle.
“Legality reviews are based on impugning a decision made based on irregular and/or unlawful conduct. It is intended to have the impugned decision reviewed and set aside. Thereafter, declare the subsequent action on contracts unlawful and invalid from the date of inception,” she said.
In cases where favourable judgments are granted, a debasement process is undertaken to determine expenditure incurred and the profit margins earned by beneficiaries of reviewed decisions.
“In most, but not all cases, the beneficiaries of the impugned decision are ordered by the court or a special tribunal to repay the amount determined as profit back to the state institution,” Kubayi said.
An exemplary institution
The minister praised the SIU for its work in recovering money for the public purse, describing it as an exemplary institution.
“We do believe that the public sees the good work that is being done by the SIU. [It] remains one of the exemplary [institutions]. People want to be part of the SIU because of the brand, the image, the ethics…[and] the ability to deliver results, and that’s what we want to see in many of our organisations, especially within the justice and criminal sector,” Kubayi said.
Criminal referrals to NPA
Turning to criminal referrals, Kubayi revealed that the SIU had made 1 949 referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority, with some 1 794 cases pending.
She acknowledged concerns about the number of referrals that lead to court appearances, noting that one investigation can result in multiple referrals when several individuals are involved.
“You can have one matter investigated by SIU, but in the referral… you have five people that must be referred for prosecution, then those individuals become multiple cases. But we still want to see successful prosecutions,” she said.
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