Former acting HOD of Health in Northern Cape sentenced for irregularly authorising R13 million lease agreement

The former acting Head of the Department of Health in the Northern Cape has been sentenced for concluding three accommodation leases agreements amounting to more than R13 million without following proper PFMA prescripts and procurement procedures.

Dr Dion Theys, 56, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment or pay a fine of R150,000 on charges relating to leases that were concluded with the JP Hugo residence for nursing accommodation.

The Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Kimberley has sentenced Theys after he was found guilty of contravening Section 86(1) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

Theys, who was the acting HOD and accounting officer during the commissioning of the crime, is accused of having concluded three lease agreements with JP Hugo Trading, amounting to more than R13 million, without following proper PFMA prescripts and procurement processes.

The trial, which started on March 29, 2022, and concluded on August 16, 2023, saw the prosecution led by Senior Advocate Isaac Mphela, from the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU), calling on several witnesses to come and testify during the trial against the accused.

"One of the first witnesses called was the Director-General of the Northern Cape Provincial Government, Justice Bekebeke, who outlined the processes of the PFMA and how government personnel should toil when utilising the public purse, specifically applying the procurement processes, said NPA regional spokesperson, Mojalefa Senokoatsane.

"The accused was out on bail of R30,000, and one of the bail conditions was that he surrender his passport," Senokoatsane said.

The trial, which took more than a year, details the seriousness the prosecution team took in ensuring that it prosecuted the case successfully, was finalised when the court sentenced the accused to a fine of R150,000 or three years imprisonment, of which R100,000 or two years imprisonment is suspended for five years, on condition that the accused is not found guilty of the same offence during the time of suspension.

"The fine is payable as follows to the clerk of the court: R10,000 should be paid before or on September 7, 2023, and after that, R2,000 should be paid before or on the seventh of each consecutive month until the fine is fully paid up," Senokoatsane added.

The Director of Public Prosecution in the Northern Cape (DPP), Livingstone Sakata, applauds the prosecution led by Head of the SCCU Advocate Brian Mdlalose and senior state advocate Isaac Mphela, and our colleagues in the DPCI (The Hawks) in getting a conviction on this complicated matter.

Sekata hopes this sentence will send a clear message to other perpetrators of corruption and fraud that the NPA and law enforcement agencies are serious about fighting crime.

IOL

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 19:32:06 GMTSibuliso Duba

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