Fidentia, Teta and the missing millions

As J Arthur Brown escapes
with a slap on the wrist,
a total of R152 million
is still missing from the
accounts of the Transport
Education and Training
Authority (Teta) as a result
of the Fidentia fraud scandal
involving him.
According to June Dube,
chairman of the Teta board,
over R200.3 million of
Teta funds were alleged
to have been part of the
over R400m in funds that
were unaccounted for in
Fidentia’s books in 2006. An
amount that the Financial
Services Board (FSB) chief
financial officer, Dawood
Seedat, revealed to the
Western Cape High Court
during Brown’s trial.
In answer to a list of
questions sent by FTW to
the authority, Teta CEO
Maphefo Anno Frempong
released the following
information on the monies
lost and recouped in the life
of this scandal.
“In our annual report
in the last financial year
we mentioned receipt of
an amount of R33.3m
from the curators – which
represented the first payout
from the much-awaited
Fidentia claim,” she told
FTW.
“When the scandal broke
six years ago, R200.3m
had been paid by Teta to
Fidentia – and, of that,
R15m was repaid.
“In the claims documents
we submitted to the curators
R185m was approved as a
claim and only R33.3m has
been received by Teta.”
It has also somewhat
tarnished Teta’s image,
Rempong added.
“It has not been easy to
run an organisation under
such a scandal that not only
impacts the organisation’s
reputation but also that of its
stakeholders,” she said.
Rempong also hinted
at some dissatisfaction
with what a number
of commentators have
described as an overly
lenient sentence.
“We do not have control
over the judgement,”
she said. “But we are
concerned about it and its
impact towards us as an
organisation as well as for
our stakeholders.”
But she saw the end to
this scandal in a positive
light. “(It) would have
surely brought relief to the
organisation, won back
trust and loyalty from our
stakeholders, as well as
reposition our institution as
a credible sector skills and
training authority.”
Rempong further
highlighted that the inroads
made in the industry had
been overshadowed by the
scandal.
“However,” she
told FTW, “when the
funds were received in
2012/2013, they were put
aside for transformational
imperatives. These included
an international leadership
development programme
(ILDP) for the rail, freight
handling, maritime, and
forwarding and clearing
chambers.”
This initiative, according
to Rempong, afforded 18
young black managers
an opportunity to visit
the Netherlands for
management training
which is classified as an
international qualification
in supplier chain
management and logistics.
It also assisted them with
business management skills
through the Wits Business
School.