Former Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo has hit back at parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), saying he is neither missing nor avoiding accountability after failing to appear before the committee.
In an interview with the SABC, Letsoalo expressed disbelief at reports that he had been “looked for” by parliament.
“Does parliament actually go look for people? I was shocked. I’m told I’ve been looked for. They say I’m missing? The only people that can register a missing person is your next of kin, isn’t it? I mean, they go to the police, they say the guy’s missing. So am I wanted? No, I’m not wanted. So there’s no issue. I don’t even know what this is about,” he said.
Letsoalo faces possible criminal prosecution after failing to appear before Scopa on Tuesday.
MPs have raised allegations of financial mismanagement, irregular contracts, overspending and misuse of taxpayers’ money on personal security during his tenure at the RAF.
Letsoalo was placed on special leave in May and suspended in June after the allegations came to light.
He was expected to present himself to the committee on Wednesday, with MPs warning that failure to do so by noon could trigger charges under the Powers and Privileges Act.
Defending his absence, Letsoalo said the committee had been attempting to serve him at a postal address he had provided.
“Well, when you go to a postal address what do you expect? I use my address as a postal address; I wrote it in a letter. I’ve never said I stayed there. Who said that I stay there? That’s the first thing,” he said.
Letsoalo cited threats to his safety as a reason for not providing details of his residential address.
“Second, I told you people want to kill me. Why would I publicise my address? The threats don’t go simply because I have ceased being a CEO of the RAF.”
He said his legal representatives had offered to receive summonses on his behalf.
“My lawyers told them, serve those summons, we’ll collect them on behalf of the guy. So once I appoint a lawyer, a lawyer can receive them on my behalf. So there’s nothing wrong. And they received that thing last week, Thursday,” he said.
Scopa chair Songezo Zibi said parliament had made extraordinary efforts to ensure Letsoalo’s appearance.
“We took a decision to issue him a summons, which was done. Before it was sent to him, the legal team sent a courtesy letter to the same email address we have been using throughout. The summons was served by the sheriff at the physical address he previously gave us, but upon arrival, the sheriff was told no-one lived there,” said Zibi.
He explained that attempts to reach Letsoalo at a second address supplied by the RAF were also unsuccessful.
“Any letter prepared by attorneys on behalf of Mr Letsoalo must be served properly. We cannot rely on documents circulating informally,” he said.
Committee member George Atkinson warned that non-appearance could result in charges.
“If he does not show up on Wednesday, charges must be filed,” said Atkinson.
Letsoalo meanwhile dismissed Scopa as a “kangaroo court” and said he would co-operate in a proper forum.
“Anyone who has gone there, never got the opportunity to present their own affidavits … South Africans want to know, call a proper forum. I’ll go there and I’ll account. There’s nothing I can’t account for,” he said.
TimesLIVE
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