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BL Premium reports that a top finance official in the Department of Defence has quietly resigned, becoming the second senior bureaucrat to leave the ministry in recent months as it grapples with a shrinking budget and heightened scrutiny by the auditor-general of its bookkeeping practices.
The abrupt departure with immediate effect in December of Sonto Kudjoe, whose role as the secretary of defence made her the chief accounting officer of the department, was confirmed by a spokesperson who cited “health reasons” for Kudjoe’s exit. Thobekile Gamede, chief of defence policy, strategy & planning has taken the reins temporarily. CFO Eric Sokhela quit in June 2022. However, he agreed to stay on in his post until the end of January. His exit will leave the department financially rudderless amid severe cost cuts. Sokhela resigned after auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke exposed about R1.5bn that was unaccounted for in the department’s 2020/2021 financial year as well as R10.5bn in unnecessary spending. According to sources, Defence Minister Thandi Modise and Kudjoe were at loggerheads because of Kudjoe’s lack of action to curb defence spending and to act against those responsible for fraudulent financial decisions. Kudjoe joined the department in 2020, four years after she left the State Security Agency (SSA) where she had served as director-general. In 2021, the SSA lodged a criminal case against her over alleged theft and/or corruption involving as much as R150m in temporary advances for operations sourced by her office before she left. In the meantime, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate has taken over the investigation against her from the Hawks.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Erika Gibson at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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