Simon Nare
An armoured BMW costing the Road Accident Fund (RAF) more than R4 million was demanded by former CEO Collins Letsoalo, Parliament heard, as the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) continued its probe into the embattled state insurance fund.
RAF head of security services Stephens Msiza said Letsoalo expanded his protection detail from three to nine bodyguards without any threat assessment.
The former CEO tried to justify the need for the armoured vehicle by insisting there was “a hit” placed on him by people in the taxi industry.
Msiza also alleged that Letsoalo pushed for personal protection for his wife, despite no evidence of a threat.
He said Letsoalo “barked instructions” at managers and that those who resisted were sidelined or dismissed. He said that the security upgrades and travel demands drove up costs and sparked clashes that ultimately ended their friendship and working relationship.
The armoured BMW – which Letsoalo said he needed to visit his farm in Limpopo, accompanied by his bodyguards – also racked up millions in petrol costs.
“I can tell you now that our relationship went sour because there were things that I didn’t agree with him [about]. So, I did whatever I did, but I had to apply my mind. The second thing that I can tell you now, in terms of [needing] security officers (bodyguards), is absolute nonsense, to say the least. I didn’t agree with that,” said Msiza.
These were just some of the issues that strained their relationship, he said.
Letsoalo threatened to “charge” him if he did not comply, he added, and allegedly told Msiza he was compromising the safety of the former CEO and his family.
Letsoalo simply refused to listen, said Msiza.
“I told him that one day this thing is going to blow up. Even ministers don’t have this kind of protection. It was one of those difficult moments where one doesn’t want to listen. Mr Letsoalo must come here [and account]. I saw an article where he sent a letter to the media distancing himself [from allegations made against him, saying [he] was not in charge of security.
“Letsoalo must come and account because these things were happening under his instructions. It becomes unfair when he starts mentioning [me] as if he didn’t know [my] position at the time, but this thing is too much,” said Msiza.
Msiza said he and Letsoalo “go way back” to their time at the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and later at PRASA and the RAF, alleging that Letsoalo created parallel structures to undermine senior managers.
He defended his own appointment – which the committee said appeared to have been engineered by his former friend and business partner, and had no clear mandate – saying he helped establish internal security structures nationwide. But he struggled to explain why comprehensive threat assessments were not completed.
SCOPA chairperson Songezo Zibi said there were officials with riskier portfolios throughout the country, who lacked similar protection. He said the alleged taxi-industry threat was never properly investigated or tested.
He said Letsoalo’s demands for bodyguards began while he was seconded to the RAF, complicating his move from the RTMC.
“We are not going to call people like yourself and leave it there. We are going to go where the buck stops for answers. I just wish to assure you that,” Zibi said.
SCOPA has resolved to summon Letsoalo to account for his role in the collapse of the fund, but he is resisting appearing.
INSIDE POLITICS