A Public Service Commission (PSC) investigation into the financial affairs of Pali Lehohla, Statistician-General and head of Statistics South Africa, has found no evidence of financial impropriety.
Allegations that Lehohla might have enriched himself by receiving 'kick-backs' in return for favouring specific suppliers of information technology solutions were made by a small group of staff at Statistics South Africa, who submitted a memorandum of complaint to the Minister of Finance. Lehohla himself requested the PSC to investigate these allegations.
In its enquiry, the PSC commissioned an extensive independent forensic audit of Lehohla's personal finances; investigated how he had financed his property holdings; and probed whether he had benefitted financially from the awarding of information technology contracts.
The PSC found no evidence of financial impropriety in any of these instances. It found that Lehohla had financed his property holdings through normal bank loans, and that no evidence of financial impropriety in his personal affairs could be found.
The enquiry did find that there were procedural irregularities in the way in which a software licence for statistical analysis and data storage was procured. However, these irregularities were administrative in nature, and no financial impropriety or corruption occurred as a result of this transaction.
'The allegations made against Mr Lehohla were naturally of great concern to Stats SA staff', said Dr Liz Gavin, acting Statistician-General while Lehohla is on a brief trip to Tanzania. 'However, neither the allegations nor the enquiry disrupted the Department's central function of collecting and disseminating statistics. But it is a relief that this unfortunate episode can now be closed, and that the organisation can focus all its energies on providing statistics', she said.
Trevor Oosterwyk, Communications Manager, Statistics South Africa, on 082-908 9104.