South Africa’s Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane (Ombudsman) on Friday faulted Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan for approving early retirement pay to Ivan Pillay, a former senior official who retired from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) years ago.
Mkhwebane made the announcement at a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday afternoon.
A complaint against the pension payment was lodged with the public protector’s office in November 2016, alleging that Gordhan had acted dishonestly with regard to public funds, resulting in Pillay’s improper early pension payment.
During the payment Gordhan was finance minister, she said, adding that Pillay was not entitled to early retirement pay.
“The allegation that minister Gordhan irregularly approved the early retirement of Mr Ivan Pillay with full retirement benefit is substantiated,” Mkhwebane said following her inquiry into the issue.
As a remedial measure, the public protector has recommended to President Cyril Ramaphosa to take disciplinary action against Gordhan for “violating the constitution.”
Ramaphosa has yet to respond to the public protector’s report, his office said. NM/APA