A local businessperson was at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg when the uniforms worn by the trolley operators seemed familiar. When she approached Acsa, her inquiry led to the investigation of a ‘stolen’ tender scam.
Local businesswoman Morwesi More was walking through OR Tambo International Airport in 2018 when she noticed something odd about the uniforms worn by the trolley operators.
Little did she know that her enquiry would uncover an audacious tender-rigging and fraud scam, involving Acsa employees and her former employee, which saw the tender increased by R10-million and ceded to the similarly named Plan B TEO. But Acsa did not immediately act against the two. This is despite GFRR recommending, in their investigation report last August, that criminal charges be opened against the pair and Kriss Reddy, the senior manager who chaired the tender board that approved Plan B Consulting’s appointment and who also signed off on the cession to Plan B TEO.
The report said: “Mr Reddy failed to confirm whether the closed corporation, Plan B TEO, was registered as a vendor on the Acsa supplier database and ERP [enterprise resource planning] systems, before signing the contract. Our investigation revealed that the entity was not registered.” An Acsa spokesperson said the company had registered a criminal case last June, and had taken disciplinary action against two individuals: “This was in the form of a written warning valid for six months. One employee was cleared of wrongdoing in a disciplinary process. A further individual is no longer an employee and no disciplinary action could be taken against him.
Insider views and internal Acsa documents showed that Vermeulen was under considerable pressure from within to testify that Pityi and Reddy’s action led to a termination of the trust relationship with the employer, and that they should be fired. But he refused, arguing that legal advice from Acsa’s lawyers, as well as Acsa’s internal policy, indicated that the transgression did not warrant dismissal.
The Acsa spokesperson said Sithebe refutes allegations that she intimidated and pressured Vermeulen, adding: “Airports Company South Africa completed a mutual separation agreement with Mr Vermeulen in terms of company policy and procedure. The company considers and concludes such agreements in circumstances where, collectively litigation may result in excessive legal and/or suspension costs; and an assessment of prospects of success.
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