Simon Nare
Parliament’s public spending watchdog has been unable to serve a subpoena on former Road Accident Fund (RAF) chief executive Collins Letsoalo ahead of his scheduled appearance.
Letsoalo is due to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on 25 and 26 November to answer questions about governance and procurement failures at the technically insolvent state insurer.
He was initially asked to attend voluntarily, in line with other former and current RAF executives who have testified at the committee’s ongoing enquiry.
Letsoalo previously questioned SCOPA’s authority to conduct the oversight inquiry and indicated he was only prepared to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Transport.
After an exchange between committee chairperson Songezo Zibi and Letsoalo over a voluntary appearance, SCOPA resolved to summon him. But attempts to serve the subpoena have so far failed.
“The sheriff attempted to serve last week, but the house was uninhabitable and appeared abandoned. We obtained an alternative address at which the sheriff attempted to serve last Friday but was not successful,” Zibi told Inside Politics.
Zibi said Letsoalo is expected to appear before the committee on November 25 and 26, failing which the committee will “take further steps in terms of applicable legislation”.
The committee has not clarified how it expects Letsoalo to appear when the subpoena has not been successfully served, and could not say whether communication had been routed through his legal representatives or whether the sheriff had tried to reach him by phone.
“There is no method the committee hasn’t tried,” was all Zibi could say when pressed for more answers.
Under Parliament’s Powers and Privileges legislation, a person who fails to appear when lawfully summoned to a committee can face criminal prosecution and a possible sentence of up to two years in jail or a fine.
During the inquiry, former and current RAF employees have implicated Letsoalo in testimony about governance failings at the fund, including allegations that he created a climate of fear and intimidation.
Witnesses told MPs he instructed that employees be suspended without substantive evidence, leading to significant spending on labour litigation and the use of external lawyers.
The committee has also heard evidence that Letsoalo spent in the region of R23 million on personal security and hotel accommodation for nine bodyguards.
INSIDE POLITICS