A senior National Treasury official will take over as acting CEO. From Moneyweb.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has placed CEO of the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA), Kedibone Madiehe, on precautionary suspension over allegations of serious misconduct relating to high-value transactions.
Job Stadi Mngomezulu, deputy director-general for corporate services at National Treasury has been seconded to the GPAA as acting CEO, effective 25 August 2025.
A press statement by National Treasury says Madiehe will remain on full pay during her suspension, which does not constitute a judgment of her guilt or innocence.
The GPAA manages nearly R3 trillion in pension funds on behalf of about 1.7 million public servants and pensioners. The agency is mandated to administer funds and benefits on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and National Treasury.
Listen/read: Delays and risky investments: GEPF defends finances
Godongwana says pension services will continue without interruption while the preliminary focus of an investigation by Treasury’s Office of the Accountant General (OAG) will be on the:
- GPAA head office lease
- African Mobility bus lease
- Jicho Consulting contracts
- LCS Biometric System lease
This follows concerns flagged by the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration over the GPAA’s decision to pay R1 billion in an apparent fictitious 10-year lease agreement for a Pretoria property, a story initially exposed by News24.
The tender appears to have been fraught with irregularities and involved the supposed lease of a new GPAA head office in Brooklyn Bridge Office Park in Pretoria. Large sums of money were paid over to Shula Developers, yet the owners of the building, JSE-listed Attacq, is reported to have had no dealings with the GPAA or Shula.
The Portfolio Committee also raised concerns about reprisals against whistleblowers refusing to sign off on payments deemed questionable.
The Auditor-General SA likewise expressed concerns about the lack of consequences for GPAA officials responsible for irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The African Mobility bus lease, involving the lease of 11 mobile office buses costing R148 million, is another of the contracts now under investigation, as are allegedly irregular payments made to Jicho Consulting over the objections of the GPAA financial manager.
The Public Sector Union demanded clarification from the GPAA over a purchase order for R67 million in favour of LCS Biometric System that later ballooned to R495 million. The union demanded evidence of compliance with supply chain management and noted irregularities in the approvals for the biometric system lease.
Godongwana says the OAG has commenced a detailed forensic investigation into all allegations against implicated individuals, as well as contracts that have been awarded.
Read: Auditor-General’s war on waste and corruption yields R4.5bn
In total, some R1.2 billion in procurement irregularities are now under investigation, according to News24, adding that the minister is further empowered to act against other GPAA executives implicated in the scandals for which Madiehe has been suspended.
The GEPF, which funds most of the GPAA’s budget, says it is concerned about its reputational risk and the trust of its members arising from the scandal, and wants National Treasury to investigate the claims and take decisive action.
“We deeply appreciate the importance of maintaining the trust and confidence of pension holders and broader society in GPAA’s operations,” said Godongwana in a statement. “The National Treasury remains committed to transparent governance and will provide updates as appropriate while respecting the integrity of the ongoing processes.”
