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- The SIU was granted a temporary order freezing the pension benefits of the former CEO of Lepelle Northern Water.
- The former CEO resigned from the water board after being placed on preventive suspension.
- SIU’s research relates to the Giyani water project.
The Special Court granted the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) a temporary order to prohibit the Municipal Employees Union Retirement Fund from paying pension benefits owed to former Lepelle Northern Water CEO Phineas Legodi.
The current provisional order comes after the initial provisional order granted was declared lapsed on November 24.
The Court also asked the defendants in the case to bring a case before it on January 21 as to why the interim order should not be upheld.
News24 reported in September that the initial order was granted after Legodi resigned from the water board a few weeks ago after the Lepelle interim board suspended him as a precaution in June.
“The matter relates to a water project that was to benefit some 50 villages in Giyani, Limpopo province. The Department of Water and Sanitation appointed Lepelle Northern Water to oversee the project,” the SIU spokesman said Tuesday, Kaizer Kganyago, in a statement.
“The SIU investigation has uncovered information suggesting that Lepelle Northern Water awarded a contract to a third party to work on the project on an irregular basis.”
READ | SIU granted an interim order to freeze the pension of the former executive director of the North Lepelle Water Board
The SIU said it felt prudent to secure the former CEO’s pension to finish the investigation.
The unit will approach the Court to present a formal request to recover the losses suffered by the State as a result of the alleged irregular award of the contract once the investigation is completed.
SIU’s chief advocate, Andy Mothibi, said resigning from the job “only ends the relationship between the employer and the employee.”
“The SIU will initiate a civil lawsuit against any official if there are indications that they have caused damage to the public purse,” he added.
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