Government pensions administrator rebuffs allegations of financial mismanagement

The Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has responded to recent concerns surrounding a document that has raised eyebrows within the public domain.

A week ago, the Public Service and Commercial Union of South Africa (PSCU) raised alarm over alleged financial mismanagement of pension funds amounting to more than R500 million at the GPAA.

According to a preliminary internal audit report for the 2024/25 financial year, compiled by Abacwaningi Business Solution (ABS) Audit & Advisory Services, there are a number of key governance concerns at the GPAA, which the auditors have brought to the attention of management to ensure sound governance.

The GPAA is a government component which reports to the Minister of Finance and administers funds and schemes on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the largest pension fund in Africa.

It thus administers the pension affairs of approximately 1.7 million government employees and pensioners, as well as the affairs of their spouses and dependants.

The report found an apparent discrepancy between the reported R15.3 million irregular expenditure and the R30.8m logged in the internal register.

There was also an innocuous purchase order of R67m, which ballooned into a staggering R495m lease liability, allegedly signed post-audit on 23 May 2025 but backdated to commence on 31 July 2024.

The report also raised serious concerns regarding R11.9m in prepayments, an additional R6.8m for undelivered uniforms, and a R12m NPS system devoid of deployment evidence.

The PSCU has now demanded evidence of Supply Chain Management compliance and the National Treasury approval over all these allegations, and requests all pertinent contracts, invoices, and approvals regarding multiple contracts, alongside confirmation of any forensic investigations initiated as per the audit recommendations.

It wrote a letter to the GPAA CEO, Kedibone Madiehe, a fortnight ago requesting clarification and remedial measures in response to the report.

However, the GPAA said no such letter has been received by the GPAA’s CEO, or her office.

The GPAA told Business Report this week that the document in question was merely a preliminary internal audit report still in progress and was illegally obtained, shared, and published, further complicating the discourse surrounding its contents and validity.

GPAA spokesperson, Mack Lewele also said the annual financial statements will be released as part of the Annual Report as soon as they are finalised and approved for publishing.

“It is a preliminary internal audit report that we are working on as per normal audit process (Annual Financial Statement).

The document was illegally obtained, shared and published. It is an internal, classified working document that is neither complete nor signed off for distribution,” Lewele said.

“A full picture will emerge when the audit process is complete and signed off and at that point we will be in a position to comment on these matters or answer any question.

“The fact that it was illegally accessed and shared makes it impossible for us to comment on it, particularly the incompleteness thereof. We will invoke the relevant procedures to deal with the illegal distribution of the document.”

Last week, the GPAA issued the PSCU and its secretary-general Tahir Maepa with a cease and desist letter from its lawyers, MacRobert Attorneys, demanding that they publish an unconditional retraction and an apology, and immediately cease and desist from any further conduct which has the effect of maligning and impairing the GPAA’s reputation.

However, the PSCU said it laid criminal complaint against the GPAA at the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria following their failure to assure the union they will act against officials who are allegedly responsible for financial losses in the agency.

“Sadly, instead of disproving the allegations they resort to legal threats,” said the PSCU. 

BUSINESS REPORT