DIRCO New York "Pilot Project": R118m Paid Upfront for a Property That Could Not Be Used

R118 million (paid upfront; AGSA irregular expenditure)

documented loss

In 2016 the Department of International Relations paid R118 million upfront to a joint venture that had not tendered, for a New York site to house the UN mission and consulate. A 2019 parliamentary visit found no usable land. The Auditor-General flagged the expenditure as irregular; the Portfolio Committee catalogued mismatched tax certificates, unaudited financials and undisclosed joint-venture partners. Minister Pandor called it "an embarrassment for our country"; the Director-General was suspended and later dismissed, and the CFO fired.

The Record The Evidence The Named What Was Lost Implicated Institutions The Paper Trail

The Record

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation wanted to consolidate South Africa's UN mission and consulate in New York on a single site. In 2016 it paid R118 million in advance to a joint venture — reported to include Simeke Group and Regiments Capital, the latter a name familiar from the Transnet files — that had not been appointed through a tender. When the Portfolio Committee on International Relations visited in December 2019 it found no usable land: what the money had bought was an unsuitable old building.

The Auditor-General classified the R118 million as irregular expenditure. The committee's record of 25 February 2021 lists the defects: mismatched tax certificates, unaudited financial statements, undisclosed joint-venture partners, evaluation criteria that shifted during the process. Minister Naledi Pandor: "The R118m did not buy anything and therefore we have investigations." Director-General Kgabo Mahoai was suspended and later dismissed; chief financial officer Caiphus Ramashua was fired; the department's review application was heard in the Gauteng High Court in October 2020.

The Evidence

Named

Institutions

Sources

Period · 2016–2021

Sector: Trade & Industry · Scope: international

Alleged & Implicated

People documented as perpetrators, enablers, beneficiaries, orchestrators, political protectors, accused, or convicted in this case. Unless the case status is Convicted, allegations remain untested.