National Library of South Africa: Fraudulent salary letter, R200,000 wasted, and a criminal case opened

Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has lifted the lid on fraudulent activities at the National Library of South Africa.

These activities include a fraudulent letter, R200,000 in irregular expenditure, and a criminal case related to this fraud.

McKenzie shared this information in response to a Parliamentary question by National Assembly member Sithembile Nkosi.

Nkosi asked McKenzie for details of a forensic investigation by Gobodo Forensic and Investigative Accounting.

This investigation focused on fraudulent activities at the National Library of South Africa (NLSA) between 2019 and 2022.

It concerned the former chief executive officer, board secretary and the board of the National Library of South Africa.

The Department received the investigation report on 14 February 2025, and it did not look good. There were many problems at the institution.

It found that the remuneration policy was outdated, there were administrative irregularities, and that the board acted negligently.

One of the things which stood out was a letter from the board secretary which supported a salary adjustment.

As a result of this letter, the National Library of South Africa overpaid R111,260.46 in salary adjustments.

“The letter was subsequently confirmed by the institution from which it purported to originate to be fraudulent,” McKenzie said.

After the board established evidence of fraud and misrepresentation by the board secretary, it did not report the matter to the Law Society of South Africa.

Gobodo Forensic and Investigative Accounting report findings

The report recommended that R200,000 must be classified and disclosed as irregular expenditure in the annual financial statements and irregular expenditure register.

However, the National Library of South Africa disputed this and did not follow the recommendation.

There was another R56,979.83 in fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred on job advertising, psychometric assessment and the re-advertisement of a post.

This money has not been recovered and is being handled by the National Library of South Africa’s Loss Control Committee.

“It will assess the circumstances in which the expenditure was incurred and make recommendations on consequence management and recovery,” he said.

The report recommended action against the former Chief Executive Officer, Acting Executive: Corporate Services, and the former board.

• Former Chief Executive Officer: The board did not renew the CEO’s contract.

• Board Secretary: The official was suspended and subsequently resigned from the National Library of South Africa, and the amount concerned was recovered in full.

• The board: The term of the former board has since ended. Aspects of recruitment matters are the subject of proceedings before the Labour Court.

A criminal case relating to the fraudulent offer letter was registered with the South African Police Service.

“The board will continue to apply consequence-management measures where misconduct or non-compliance is established,” McKenzie said.