Accountant and former board member of South African Airways (SAA), Yakhe Kwinana, appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court earlier this week on allegations of defrauding the airline.
The charges relate to her failure to disclose past contractual relationships with two entities, namely, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Nkonki Incorporated, which were awarded a tender worth R59 million as joint auditors by SAA for auditing services for the 2011/2 financial year.
The Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) is required by the Constitution and other legislation to prepare a report on the financial affairs of the organs of state in respect of every financial year. The AGSA opted not to perform the audit for the 2011-2012 financial year.
On September 15, 2011, SAA consulted the AGSA on the appointment of PwC and Nkonki Incorporated. The AGSA agreed in writing and notified the chairperson of the accounting authority of SAA on September 12, 2011.
In terms of section 50(3) of the PFMA, a member of the accounting authority must disclose to the accounting authority any direct or indirect personal or private business interests that that member or any spouse, partner or close family member may have in any matter before the accounting authority.
They are required to withdraw from the proceedings of the accounting authority when that matter is considered, unless the accounting authority decides that the member’s direct or indirect interest in the matter is trivial or irrelevant to the matter under consideration.
The state alleges that Kwinana, in her capacity as the chairperson of the audit committee of SAA and a member of its accounting authority, failed to comply fully with the fiduciary duties imposed on her by the provisions of section 50 of the PFMA.
She allegedly failed to disclose to either PwC, Nkonki or the board of directors of SAA or the audit committee of SAA that Kwinana and Associates, of which she was the sole director, had previous contractual relationships with PwC and Nkonki and thereby caused prejudice to the proper administration of the affairs of SAA. Her failure to disclose was also prejudicial to the public, who are entitled to procurements by organs of state that are fully compliant with the prescripts of the Constitution.
Bail was set at R20 000, following an unopposed bail hearing. The case will be back in court on January 29, 2025 for disclosure of the contents of the docket to the accused.
