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.