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Home affairs official in hot water for allegedly soliciting bribes before signing invoices

Source: City Press, 10/02/2025




The home affairs department has found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons as an official is accused of unscrupulous behaviour. A senior home affairs official is allegedly refusing to approve invoices from service providers; he instead demands bribes in return for having the invoices paid.Home affairs acting chief director for employee engagement Percy Tshabane who is accused of soliciting bribes from service providers. The startling claims are contained in a whistleblower complaint sent to the office of Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, Parliament and the Public Service Commission.In the complaint, which City Press has seen, one lawyer, who identified himself as Mareng Mareng (adopted name), alleged that lawyers were being frustrated by the chief director responsible for legal, Percy Tshabane.Tshabane is accused of soliciting bribes and monetary benefits from the service providers by asking them to fund his music career through requesting money to purchase a sound system, his children`s school fees and his lifestyle. The complaint reads: Service providers are not bribing and soliciting favours from Percy Tshabane; instead, he is the one frustrating them by withholding their invoices for 60 to 180 days in order to extort money from them (in the disguise that he`s doing them a favour). Mareng quoted the National Treasury Quarterly Report, which stipulated that failure to pay invoices within 30 days constitutes financial misconduct, which is chargeable under the labour law framework.City Press has seen several text messages between Tshabane and one of the lawyers on the department`s labour relations panel. The frustrated lawyer sent him a message, reminding him that since he had submitted his invoice in July last year, nothing had happened.When you needed assistance from me twice, initially, I took you as a brother who could relate and who could elevate our careers going forward, but today, we are being victimised right in your hands. Where do you get the audacity of asking for financial assistance from me, to be specific, as you did, knowing very well that you are intentionally withholding my invoice?The WhatsApp message continued, saying: `Even ever since you asked for assistance from me, you have never even recommended work for me, but when you need help, I must jump to your tune.`In one of the text messages, purportedly from Tshabane to one lawyer, he asked: `Are you winning? I only managed to get R2 000 and [I] am short of R3 000.Another lawyer told City Press that the chief director once asked for R5 000 for rent, and because they were owed more than R500 000, he gave him R10 000.But my payment hasn`t been processed. We speak as lawyers, and what is common is that the chief director is always refusing to approve invoices on time and, during the process, we are being asked for favours.Home affairs chief financial officer Gordon Hollamby asked for proof of the allegations.`Should you have concrete evidence of the official soliciting favours from the suppliers, please share such. Given the seriousness of the allegations, my personal view is that this matter can best be investigated by an entity with sufficient powers outside the department.`Hollamby said he had previously investigated the payment of invoices in this area, but did not engage with the service providers. `You should appreciate that the service providers are all legal firms and any allegation that they are bribing/soliciting favours from a senior departmental official will also put them at risk of criminal prosecution.`PAYMENTSThe complaint added:According to the lawyer, Tshabane uses various means of collecting funds from the service providers, including through his banking account and drop-off at his office.He allegedly withholds invoices and stalls to sign and frustrates them deliberately.According to the complaint, this is the tactic he uses to raise funds from service providers.Tshabane told City Press that he went on leave from 17 December until 20 January.He added: Surprisingly, I received a call while on leave from an employee of one of the service providers who said he understood that I was holding on payments, and they would not be paid. He mentioned to me a lot of things that were said, and I indicated to him that we would only pay in April 2025.Tshabane said that, on his return, he took it upon himself to have an official meeting with the service provider in the office just to explain what was holding their payments, which they understood.He said he was not, however, in a position to disclose the name of the service provider without their consent.`[But] there is no way that the department or an individual will hold payment, as it is against the prescripts. I received an intention to discipline on 20 November 2024 for alleged failure to pay within 30 days. This is to indicate that payment of invoices is a priority, and we do not miss that if the invoices comply with the service level agreement (SLA).`He added that since the legal fraternity was a highly regulated environment, he found it perplexing that the allegations were levelled against him and said if there were unreasonable delays or he was soliciting bribes, service providers could invoke a clause dealing with dispute resolution in the Service Level Agreement or escalate it to higher authorities. To this end, I deny having requested money from a service provider. I do not rule out being name-dropped by others when facing pressure from service providers just to ward them off that the invoices are with Mr Tshabane. Tshabane said he previously received an enquiry from a person purporting to be a journalist, with a foreign accent, and `I suspect collusion as we are operating in a highly syndicated environment and any number can be ported`.He denied ever sending messages to service providers and said the aggrieved parties should approach the Counter Corruption and law enforcement agencies for further investigations. `Such a faceless service provider must come out because the faceless behaviour doesnt represent a legal practitioner who knows how rights in terms of SLAs should be enforced.`The department is yet to comment.


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