SIU to freeze former GP Agriculture HOD pension benefits
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been granted a preservation order by the Special Tribunal to freeze pension benefits of former Head of Department at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture Matilda Gasela.
According to the order, she will not be able to withdraw her pension benefits, which amount to R3.3 million.
The order, granted on 15 May 2025, also restrains Ms. Gasela from accessing or claiming these funds pending finalisation of the legal proceedings.
Gasela is alleged to have played a pivotal role in the mismanagement of a contract involving Enviro Mobi (Pty) Ltd.
In 2017, Enviro Mobi, a company linked to former ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe, was allegedly irregularly awarded an R72 million tender to supply 200 motorised three-wheeler vehicles set to empower waste pickers in the Ekurhuleni metro.
READ MORE: SIU secures preservation order for Mabe house, Porsche
"Despite the company’s failure to deliver the required vehicles, she authorised further payments and approved a settlement of R6,499,712.64 for purported 'storage costs' – an expense not stipulated in the original contract," said SIU in a statement on Friday
"Senior counsel had explicitly advised against this payment, which was later declared to be fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
"Her actions allegedly contravened the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and contributed to the depletion of public funds, as the SIU contends, in what it describes as a fraudulent scheme."
The case against Pule Mabe and his co-accused has been postponed to 17 June following changes to the legal representatives of some of the accused.
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