A whistleblower has revealed that the Construction Education and Training Authority granted accreditation to a company linked to Vusumuzi Cat Matlala despite critical inspections not being done. The findings come from an investigation into a large scale bribery scheme at the authority.
According to a plea agreement statement seen by the Sunday Times, an informant told Ceta that when accreditation was conducted for the Buena Vista Learning Academy, officials did not inspect mock up structures for practicals. The informant said letters were issued against reports with missing and expired documents.
Buena Vista drew public scrutiny after the Madlanga commission of inquiry revealed it was paid R3.7 million for a skills development programme despite numerous red flags. These included a lack of proper accreditation, fraudulent documentation, falsified financial histories, an invalid VAT status, and operating as a tshisanyama. The company was taken over by Tsakane Matlala, wife of Cat Matlala, just days before the training contract advert closed. The company’s address was also moved to the couple’s luxury home.
The contract started as a minor allocation of R66,500 but final payouts increased more than sixtyfold to R3.48 million in taxpayer funds through Ceta grants.
The whistleblower described an environment where accreditation letters were virtually guaranteed with financial inducements, applications were fast tracked for a fee, fraudulent certificates were issued to people who never attended training, and accreditation letters were printed from private residences to avoid oversight.
Ceta, currently under administration, said it has prioritised the detection and investigation of irregular conduct. Disciplinary processes were instituted against four employees, with outcomes including one dismissal, one final written warning and two findings of not guilty.
Ceta also said it is requesting approval from National Treasury to upgrade its information management systems to strengthen automated controls and enhance audit trails.