Funduzi Forensic Services, the firm hired by the office of the auditor general (OAG) to investigate the drugs shortage crisis, misled Cabinet about its corporate identity and credentials during a meeting convened at Hospital Hill in August, 2023.
A detailed review of the documents provided to Cabinet suggests that the company’s representatives presented information inconsistent with official corporate records in South Africa and Eswatini.
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These documents, now the subject of a court application and in this newspaper’s possession, show that the company presented altered material during the meeting held on August 1, 2023, where representatives from the company appeared before Cabinet following press reports questioning its legitimacy, experience and procurement pathway.
A day after that meeting, Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg issued a press statement publicly assuring the nation that the investigation remained above reproach.
In his August 2, 2023 statement, Minister Rijkenberg said Cabinet had satisfied itself that the company contracted by the auditor general was a South African entity operating as Funduzi Forensic Services, registered under 2017/390767/07, and that it bid locally ‘through its extension’ registered in Eswatini under 202210101025631.
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He further stated that the company had submitted statutory documents indicating it was local, had an appealing technical profile and possessed “vast experience and technical expertise,” which placed it ahead of competitors.
This newspaper can confirm that the South African registration number cited by the minister did not belong to Funduzi Forensic Services at the time the company was awarded the tender in December 2022.
Instead, the number was registered to an entirely different South African entity called DW Wealth Consultants (Pty) Ltd.
To understand how the number came to be associated with Funduzi, this newspaper examined corporate records from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in South Africa. A COR15.2 document, an amendment of a company’s Memorandum of Incorporation, dated August 1, 2023, the very day Funduzi met Cabinet ministers, shows that an application was submitted to change the name of DW Wealth Consultants to DW Wealth Consultants Funduzi Forensic Services.
The CIPC stamped and accepted the amendment on the same day. This means that the South African company referred to in the minister’s statement only adopted the ‘Funduzi’ name after appearing before Cabinet, not at the time it was awarded the Eswatini contract months earlier (December, 2022). To verify the documentation presented to Cabinet, this newspaper sought clarity from the CIPC. Among the documents tabled before ministers was paperwork suggesting that DW Wealth Consultants was ‘trading as Funduzi Forensic Services’.
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In response, CIPC Commissioner Advocate Rory Voller issued a written clarification on October 9, 2023, stating unequivocally that “CIPC does not register trading names. We are not responsible for the trade name that appears on the company document,” highlighting that the institution had not issued documentation supporting the claimed trading – as arrangement.
Separately, documents from the auditor general’s office contradict the narrative that the Eswatini-registered Funduzi was an ‘extension’ of an established South African firm.
The records show that the local entity awarded the tender was newly-set up in October, 2022, shortly before the bidding process.
At that point, there was no linkage, corporate or otherwise, to any existing South African forensic auditing company, directly contradicting with the representation made to Cabinet and repeated in the minister’s
Taken together, the evidence raises the possibility that Funduzi’s representatives presented Cabinet with a version of their corporate identity that did not reflect the true timeline of events.
This evidence resurfaces at a time when two pharmaceutical suppliers have launched high-value legal actions against the company, collectively demanding E313 million over allegations arising from the forensic investigation.
Cerium Scientific, owned by businesswoman Zinhle Matsebula, has filed a E63 million lawsuit accusing Funduzi of issuing defamatory findings that allegedly crippled its commercial operations and damaged its reputation.
The company claims the forensic report falsely implied collusion with a suspended procurement officer and suggested that it should be blacklisted from public procurement, with Cerium claiming the allegations against the company led to lost clients, cancelled orders and long-term reputational harm. Court papers put the company’s alleged financial losses at E43 million, with an additional E20 million sought for general damages.
The second action, filed last week by Avapharm, seeks E250 million in damages. Avapharm argues that Funduzi’s findings were defamatory, injurious and published despite the firm allegedly knowing that its own appointment to undertake the audit was unlawful.
The company says the statements harmed both Avapharm and its director, Kareem Ashraff, and has initiated combined summons proceedings to pursue the matter in the High Court.
Both Funduzi matters now proceed to the next procedural stage, with the firm required to file notices of intention to defend within 10 days and full pleas within 21 days, failing which default judgments may be entered.
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