Office of chief justice mum for now on findings about senior staff who 'scored from R225m IT contract'

An investigation into how three senior officials in the office of the chief justice (OCJ) could have been involved in the awarding of a R225m IT contract — and then formed a company that benefited from the deal — has been completed.

But the office is mum on the findings — for now.

Secretary-general of the OCJ Memme Sejosengwe told parliament’s portfolio committee on justice that findings and recommendations in the report were interim and that the audi alteram partem rule, which requires them to hear the other side of the case, was still to be complied with. Those implicated or mentioned in the report have not yet had a right of reply, she said.

The internal forensic investigation was completed with the assistance of SIU officials who were seconded to the OCJ because of the complexity of the case.

Sejosengwe asked MPs to give her office six weeks to report back on the process.

Tuesday was the second time the committee met hoping to get detailed information about the matter. 

Sejosengwe confirmed the OCJ has consulted Thomson Reuters with regards to the contract and business continuity and that the system was being implemented in the Gauteng division of the high court.

In addition to that, the OCJ’s lawyers were drafting papers with regards to the review of the contract with ZA Square Consulting, a company started by former OCJ CFO Casper Coetzer, former spokesperson and chief director of court administration Nathi Mncube and former case management director Yvonne van Niekerk.

DA MP Werner Horn expressed concern that the committee had twice set a date for the OCJ to brief it on the matter, but on both occasions “there is a veil of secrecy”.

“From an oversight perspective, it is unacceptable,” he said.

In August, Sejosengwe confirmed to the same committee that Coetzer, Mncube and Van Niekerk had played a role in the awarding of the contract to Thomson Reuters, from bid specifications to bid evaluation as well as in the bid adjudication committee, as it was part of their official duties.

She said their “fingerprints were all over the Thomson Reuters deal”, including the negotiation process for pricing relating to the contract, she said. As the procurement processes required members to declare their interests, the three officials had declared they had no interest in the company (Thomson Reuters) and in anything related to the process.

Sejosengwe told the committee that in December 2021, the OCJ awarded a contract to Thomson Reuters to provide software, licences, resources and support and maintenance for five years, commencing April 1 2022.

In terms of the award letter, Thomson Reuters was required to subcontract at least 30% of the services to a qualifying small enterprise (QSE) or exempt micro-enterprise (EME) registered in SA.

In May, Thompson Reuters formally provided the OCJ with the details of the QSE South African-based company it had subcontracted to provide support and maintenance. The company stood to earn 30% of the deal’s value, or at least R67.5m.

“The OCJ noted at that stage that the three directors of the company were employees of the OCJ.”

By then, the three directors, still employed by the OCJ, had already served their resignation letters and were serving their notice period during May, she said.

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