Wednesday, 30 April 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) demands the immediate suspension of Ms. Nontobeko Mafu, Acting Director General of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV), following the damning revelations of the Nexus Forensic Services Report released on 21 January 2021. The report, which was scandalously classified as “confidential” and covered up for over four years, exposes Ms. Mafu’s deep involvement in serious financial misconduct, circumvention of procurement prescripts, and gross mismanagement of projects that squandered millions of taxpayers’ money.

This corruption and maladministration have run the DMV into the ground, rendering it incapable of delivering any of the 11 benefits enshrined in the Military Veterans Act No. 18 of 2011. The result has been severe neglect and untold suffering for South Africa’s Military Veterans, whose sacrifices for our liberation are being betrayed by a corrupt and self-serving ANC elite.

The Nexus Forensic Services Report provides irrefutable evidence of Ms. Mafu’s criminal conduct, yet she has been allowed to continue her reign of terror in the DMV, shielded by ANC patronage. For over four years, her corrupt management has persisted unabated, plunging the Department into chaos and depriving Military Veterans of their rightful benefits, including healthcare, housing, education, and pensions. The DMV, under Ms. Mafu’s leadership, has become a cesspool of mismanagement and impunity, with no accountability for the millions wasted on failed projects and irregular expenditures. This is a betrayal of the highest order against those who risked and gave their lives for our freedom.

The EFF calls on the current Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms. Angie Motshekga, and her predecessors who concealed the Nexus Report, to be held accountable for their complicity in this travesty. The cover-up of Ms. Mafu’s wanton corruption and mismanagement is a deliberate act of sabotage against military veterans and the South African public. Ministers who failed to act on the Nexus Report must also face the full consequences of their negligence and complicity in allowing this rot to fester.

Moreover, the EFF condemns Ms. Mafu’s mafia-style management of the DMV, which has seen her unleash a reign of terror and intimidation against patriotic staff who have bravely blown the whistle on her corrupt practices. Whistleblowers within the DMV are being summarily fired without due process or adherence to human resources regulations, in a desperate attempt to silence dissent and protect her criminal enterprise. This blatant violation of labour laws and ethical governance cannot be tolerated in a democratic South Africa.

The EFF demands the following immediate actions to address this crisis:

1. Immediate Suspension of Ms. Nontobeko Mafu: Ms. Mafu must be suspended from her position as Acting Director General of the DMV with immediate effect, pending a full investigation into her conduct as outlined in the Nexus Forensic Services Report.

2. Full Implementation of the Nexus Report Recommendations: The recommendations of the Nexus Report must be implemented without delay to hold all implicated parties accountable and recover misappropriated funds.

3. Placement of the DMV Under Administration: The DMV must be placed under administration to halt the ongoing corruption and mismanagement and to restore its capacity to serve Military Veterans effectively.

4. Protection for Whistleblowers: All whistleblowers in the DMV must be reinstated and protected from further victimisation, with investigations into their unlawful dismissals conducted urgently.

5. Criminal Prosecution of the Guilty: Ms. Mafu and all those complicit in the corruption and mismanagement of the DMV must face the full wrath of the law, including criminal prosecution for financial misconduct and abuse of power.

6. Urgent Turnaround of the DMV: The Department must be restructured and capacitated to deliver on its mandate, ensuring that Military Veterans receive the benefits they are entitled to without further delay.

The EFF will not stand idly by while military veterans, who dedicated their lives to the struggle for our liberation, are subjected to such gross abuse and neglect by corrupt ANC politicians and officials. The continued suffering of veterans, many of whom live in poverty and ill health, is a national disgrace that demands urgent redress. The DMV must be transformed into a functional and effective institution that honors the sacrifices of our heroes and heroines.

We call on all South Africans to join us in demanding justice for military veterans and an end to the corruption that has crippled the DMV. The EFF will continue to fight tirelessly to ensure that those responsible for this betrayal are brought to book and that the rights and dignity of military veterans are restored. The time for accountability is now.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572