DETAWU has noted with great concern the recent revelation on the original (alleged) citizenship and development on the deportation of SATAWU General Secretary Mr Zenzo Mahlangu as reported on the news.

We note that this allegation has up to this point been refuted by his Union. We call upon the Private Security Sector Provident Fund to dismiss Mr Zenzo Mahlangu both as their fund investment subcommittee chairperson and as a fund board member with immediate effect on the basis that he cannot be trusted to preside and hold a fiducial duty over South African Workers monies being an alleged illegal immigrant as reported on the media.

We view the allegations to be of a very serious nature in as far as his role as a fund trustee is concerned. Furthermore we demand the immediate removal of Bophelo Benefit Services as the fund administrator of funeral benefits and fund administrator of the beneficiary trust of Private Security Sector Provident Fund on the basis of the recent published news wherein the said company is alleged to be involved in the scandal wherein more than 560 million of mine workers’ monies at Anglo Platinum were lost in their pension fund.

On behalf of our members we firmly believe that a company with such a tarnished reputation and involved in such a high scale alleged scandal cannot be entrusted with a responsibility to safeguard and preserve security workers’ monies. We have noted as well that Bophelo Director Mr Mhlanga is accused of being an illegal immigrant from the same country as that of Mr Mahlangu.

Security workers are required to undergo a vetting process to ascertain if they do not have criminal records and to confirm if they have the correct South African citizenship status. It goes without say that all persons responsible for the well-being of their monies should be clean of the same beyond reproach. We are reliably informed that the previous PSSPF Board that finished at the end of August 2016 took a decision in line with the rules of this provident fund to vet all new trustees to ascertain if they are in good standing.

We know that the current Board in assuming their term of office never executed this decision leaving people with questionable status to be represented as trustees, this was a great oversight in as far as the current board is concerned. Should the board ignore our call we will have no choice but to both mobilise our members in the industry to mount more pressure on the board and at the same time we will be consulting our legal team to formulate a legal strategy on how to force the board to implement our call.

We shall do all possible within our means to have the fund cleaned from any potential risk of corruption.

Issued by DETAWU