Suspended principal officer, Stan Moloabi. Picture: Linkedin/Gems
The Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems) has placed its principal officer, Stan Moloabi, on precautionary suspension after members expressed dissatisfaction with the refusal to lower monthly contributions.
But the medical scheme’s chair, Nomzamo Tutu, said in a media statement released on Tuesday that the two are unrelated, and that Moloabi was not suspended in connection with the scheme’s financial position, reserves or solvency.
Gems head suspended pending admin process
“The decision to place the principal officer on precautionary suspension is an interim measure that enables the appropriate internal processes to unfold with integrity and independence. It should not be construed as a finding of misconduct or wrongdoing,” she said.
She said the head of the largest medical scheme for public servants was suspended pending “the completion of an internal administrative process”.
Gems won’t elaborate
While Business Day reports that Moloabi said he cannot elaborate further on his suspension because he is prohibited from discussing the matter, Tutu did not detail what the “internal administrative process” entails.
“The board has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the scheme’s governance processes are applied consistently, fairly and without prejudice,” said Tutu.
Chief Operating Officer, Vuyo Gqola, has been appointed acting principal officer. “The scheme continues to operate normally and remains fully committed to delivering quality healthcare benefits and services to its members and stakeholders,” said Tutu.
“Our priority remains the continued stability of the scheme, the protection of our members’ interests and adherence to the highest standards of corporate governance.”
“Schemes seeking to moderate contribution increases are generally those that have already attained and maintained solvency levels in excess of the prescribed minimum,” read a letter to GEMS from CMS registrar Musa Gumede.
“In this instance (GEMS) solvency remains below the statutory threshold, and the proposed reduction is therefore not considered prudent.”
The Medical Schemes Act requires schemes to maintain a solvency ratio of at least 25%. A scheme’s ratio, which is the ratio of its cumulated funds to its annualised contribution income, is considered a key measure of its financial stability.
Former Bosasa workers march to the Master’s Office in Johannesburg, calling for answers over money they say remains outstanding years after the company entered liquidation. (Supplied)
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More than 4,500 former employees of Bosasa, now African Global Operations, say they’ve been left struggling for years as they wait for outstanding salaries, retrenchment benefits and other payments following the company’s liquidation in 2019.
The plight of the former employees has come under the spotlight after a high court two weeks ago ordered liqudators to submit financial records relating to Bosasa and entities linked to it, including bank statements, financial statements, trust deeds, meeting minutes, distribution records and share certificates.
The court wants those documents to examine how money, assets and distributions were handled between 2008 and 2021, including money involving the Bosasa Employees Trust and Gavin Watson Family Trust.
For the former employees, the long wait to be paid has taken a toll on them.
William Mokoena said he joined the company in 2010 as a driver at one of its mining subsidiaries and has spent years trying to find out when he’d receive money he believed he was owed.
“We went to the Master of the high court, constantly submitting and signing papers. They never told us what was going to happen; we only knew that we were supposed to get our funds,” he said.
Mokoena said it was only in 2025 that Sanlam began contacting some former employees about signing documents linked to payments. “Sanlam told us that three months after signing the papers we would get our money, but they kept wanting more documents signed,” he said.
He said some former colleagues recently received payments, although the amounts varied. “It was this past week when some colleagues in the Eastern Cape said they received some funds, which they called surplus, but some of us didn’t get it,” he said.
“Others got R1,000, another said R800 and another R2,000. Others got the money recently, and others got this money long ago.”
Mokoena said he had received about R200,000 from his provident fund and UIF when the company closed but said this had not been enough to rebuild his life. “This has completely destroyed me in my spirit because I have two kids who are [at] university… Even NSFAS is not enough,” he said.
At the time he lost his job, Mokoena had already started building a home for his late wife, who died in 2018.
The house remains unfinished. “I have 12 kids who rely on me as their breadwinner. I have to go back home to Limpopo to take care of the home. I’m old and can’t work anymore. What am I going to eat? They have my money.”
In this 2024 picture, former Bosasa workers are seen marching to the Master’s Office in Johannesburg, calling for answers over money they said remained outstanding years after the company was liquidated. (Supplied)
Rabelani Masindi, who worked at Bosasa’s youth detention centres, said former workers had been failed by those who should have assisted them. “We were failed by the Master of the high court, the liquidator and also the trade unions. They were there, but they failed to assist us,” he said.
Masindi said the financial strain had affected the health and wellbeing of former colleagues. “Some of our colleagues have even passed, some having [died by suicide] and no one can represent those families,” he said.
“Others are sick because of the working conditions they endured; they can’t even afford medical bills and maybe, if they had gotten their funds, they’d be able to live.”
Former workers Dumsani Mnguni and Lesedi Motshabi said they were dismissed while working in correctional facilities under risky conditions.
Mnguni said the loss of his income had affected his family. “At the moment, my woman is gone with the children. I’m staying in a shack. I can’t even afford to buy myself food.”
He said years of unemployment had left him struggling to rebuild his life. “You don’t have anything. Phones are breaking, everything is broken, guys. I’m broke. I don’t want to prolong this, but they’ve destroyed us. Those people have destroyed us from the inside.”
Mnguni said former workers spent years asking to be absorbed into the correctional services so they could earn an income and support their families.
Motshabi said losing his job forced him to sell a stand he had purchased while employed. “I had bought a stand in the township, and I was forced to sell it because I didn’t have any income. I bought the stand at R10,000, and I sold it for R20,000,” he said.
He eventually moved back to Brits in North West and spent years without stable employment. “I sat for five years at home with no job and only got something in 2023 to support my family,” he said.
Sanlam confirmed that payments were being processed for eligible members of the African Global Operations Provident Fund.
The financial services company said 187 claims were processed, with about R342,000 distributed, while 1,004 members remain eligible for about R2.1m in outstanding benefits.
Meanwhile, Jared Watson, acting on behalf of the late Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson’s estate, has disputed aspects of the liquidation process and raised concerns about the sale of company assets and about liquidators’ fees.
The proposed closure of Premier Group’s Tulbagh canning factory could disrupt an agricultural export supply chain supporting more than 200 fruit producers, transport operators and other service providers, according to trade unions opposing the move.
The unions said about 90% of the factory’s canned fruit output is exported and 424 factory jobs are at risk.
Premier Group has attributed its decision to begin a Section 189 retrenchment process at Fruit Products Western Cape to global oversupply, higher United States tariffs, uncertainty surrounding the African Growth and Opportunity Act, exchange rate pressures and consolidation in the canned fruit industry.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and other signatories have urged Premier Group to suspend the retrenchment consultations for 12-24 months while alternatives to closure are investigated.
COSATU’s Western Cape Provincial Secretary Malvern de Bruyn told Freight News, ahead of a scheduled meeting with Premier Group on August 26, the union intends to discuss the proposals in an open letter sent to the company.
The letter was signed by COSATU and its affiliate unions, Solidarity, the National Union for All Sectors and the Canning Fruit Producers’ Association. It was addressed to Premier Group Chief Executive Kobus Gertenbach, Chairperson Iaan van Heerden and shareholders, including Christo Wiese, Brait and Allan Gray.
The signatories warned that the closure would have a ripple effect across the supply chain and affect communities including Tulbagh, Saron, Gouda, Wolseley, Ceres and Hermon.
“We write for the benefit of their families and the farmers, contractors, transport operators, service providers, local businesses and thousands of workers and other people whose livelihoods depend on the economic ecosystem this factory sustains.”
They argued that the 60-day period provided for the Section 189 consultation process is insufficient to consider alternatives to closure.
“A two-year pause is not an unreasonable request in the circumstances. It would give all stakeholders real time and space, free of the threat of imminent closure, to properly determine how the factory can be saved, sold, recapitalised, repurposed or operated under a different business model.”
The signatories also referred to the Competition Tribunal’s approval of Premier Group’s merger with RFG in March 2026, which was subject to conditions concerning merger-related retrenchments.
They claimed Premier Group has not yet proved to the Competition Commission that the proposed retrenchments are unrelated to the merger.
“On the facts as they stand, Premier should not be proceeding with this process at all,” they said.
The unions argued that signalling the proposed closure before obtaining Competition Commission approval risks undermining the factory’s commercial prospects and making it more difficult to save.
According to the letter, approximately 200 to 220 fruit producers supplying the facility could be affected. The producers could be forced to remove orchards, find alternative crops and establish new production, packing and distribution arrangements, the signatories said.
“For many, your closure of the factory threatens the viability of their businesses and the livelihoods of everyone they employ. It will strike farms, transporters, contractors, input suppliers, machinery suppliers, engineering firms, service providers, retailers and other businesses across Tulbagh and all their employees and surrounding communities.”
The signatories warned that the loss of the factory’s industrial capacity could be permanent as equipment could be sold and workers’ skills and institutional knowledge lost.
Orchards could be removed, they added and noted that deciduous fruit trees typically have a lifespan of between 20 and 30 years.
The signatories called for potential investors and producers to be given time to explore ownership or investment options. They also urged government to investigate possible trade, tariff and financial support measures.
Premier Group said, on Tuesday, August 25, that it has begun consultations with affected employees and recognised representatives regarding the proposed controlled closure of the business.
“The process is currently still underway and Premier is continuing to engage with the relevant parties as part of this process. Given that these consultations have not yet concluded, it would be premature to comment on the outcome or provide any further detail at this stage,” the company said.
A startling new report highlights the extreme severity of South Africa’s crime crisis, revealing that just three local metros have recorded double the murders of the entire European Union. Regionally, a key official is arrested following the catastrophic Lake Kariba ferry disaster. Globally, rescue teams are frantically searching for over 1,300 people missing in devastating flash floods on the Nepal-China border, while tech giant Meta agrees to a historic $18 billion legal settlement.
The Brief cover by TheProfiler
SOUTH AFRICA | KEY DEVELOPMENTS
SA’s Three Biggest Cities Record Double the Murders of the Entire EU
A shocking new data analysis reveals the extraordinary scale of South Africa’s violent crime epidemic. The combined cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, and eThekwini recorded 8,553 murders in the latest reporting period, more than double the 3,953 murders documented across the entire 27-nation European Union in 2024. While the three metros hold just 3% of the EU’s total population, Cape Town’s staggering murder rate hit 71.5 per 100,000 people, compared to the EU average of just 0.9. This lethal violence and the resulting security costs continue to severely cripple South Africa’s potential for economic growth and job creation.
Parliament Alarmed by Defence Department Corruption
The Parliamentary Defence Committee has raised severe red flags over widespread tender irregularities within the Department of Defence and Military Veterans. Lawmakers were recently briefed by the Hawks regarding 13 ongoing investigations into suspicious contracts worth hundreds of millions of rand, some of which have already been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority. One of the most glaring probes involves the alleged unlawful transfer of R40 million contributed by active-duty soldiers to the South African Army Foundation, intensifying calls for a sweeping crackdown on military corruption.
Premier Foods Workers Strike Over Looming Factory Closure
Industrial tensions are boiling over in the Western Cape as Cosatu rallies behind workers at Premier Foods’ fruit products plant in Tulbagh against a proposed factory closure. Employees fear the shutdown will devastate the local community, threatening an estimated 3,000 permanent and seasonal jobs. The union argues that the sudden loss of income will devastate the region’s agricultural value chain, highlighting the severe socio-economic impact of corporate restructuring in rural farming hubs.
Official Arrested for Culpable Homicide Over Lake Kariba Ferry Disaster
In a major push for accountability following Zimbabwe’s deadliest recorded maritime disaster, authorities have arrested Ignatius Chiome, a district coordinator for the Kariba Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA). Chiome has been charged with culpable homicide and remanded in custody after the RIDA-operated Mbuya Nehanda ferry capsized on August 11, killing 97 people. Investigations revealed the vessel was severely overloaded—carrying well beyond its 90-passenger authorized capacity—when it encountered rough conditions on the lake.
Guinea President Dismisses 173 Soldiers in Massive Shake-Up
Guinea’s military ruler, President Mamadi Doumbouya, has abruptly dismissed 173 military personnel over allegations of desertion. The sweeping purge includes Michel Lamah, a prominent member of the elite Special Forces unit who was highly visible during the execution of the September 2021 coup that originally brought Doumbouya to power. The move is widely viewed as a decisive effort by the president to eliminate internal dissent and consolidate his grip on the mineral-rich West African nation.
Over 1,300 Missing in Devastating Nepal-China Flash Floods
A catastrophic glacier collapse on the Nepal-China border has triggered massive flash flooding along the Trishuli River. Authorities report that over 1,300 people remain missing across both nations, while the death toll in Nepal has climbed to at least 162. The missing include hundreds of foreign tourists and pilgrims traveling to sacred Hindu sites, with authorities noting that at least four South African nationals are currently unaccounted for. The United Nations has urgently mobilized humanitarian teams and helicopters to assist the overwhelmed emergency rescue operations.
Meta Agrees to Historic $18 Billion Settlement Over Social Media Addiction
In a landmark legal capitulation, tech behemoth Meta has agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle claims brought by a massive coalition of US state attorneys general. The lawsuits alleged that the company actively engineered its Facebook and Instagram apps to be addictive to children and teenagers, leading to anxiety and depression across a generation of youth. The unprecedented financial penalty marks a turning point in the global push to regulate Big Tech, forcing Meta to implement strict daily time limits and overnight access blocks for teenage users.
THE Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will be holding its 15th national congress from 14 to 17 September.
– SOLLY PHETOE
It is a workers’ parliament where thousands of workers from our farms to our factories will be raising the many dire challenges that they experience at the workplace and in their communities. Most importantly, it is a chance to debate and craft solutions for the Federation to take beyond congress.
Congress will take place against the backdrop of some of the most intractable challenges facing the working class from a dangerously high 43.8% unemployment rate, to entrenched poverty and inequality, to the rising cost of living, to intolerable crime and corruption.
It occurs at a time when despite the substantial progress in tackling state capture and corruption, loadshedding and other challenges facing the state; many frontline public and municipal services are reeling from years of austerity budget cuts, mismanagement and neglect.
South Africa is facing many brutal headwinds, from the collapse of municipal services in many towns and communities to skyrocketing oil and fuel prices due to the war in the Persian Gulf to the weaponisation of international trade tariffs.
These have real consequences for domestic economic growth, for the very survival of many local companies to the jobs of thousands of South African workers, black and white, and their ability to take care of their families.
Over the past year we have seen furniture, jewellery and other manufacturing companies close in different parts of the Western Cape and South Africa because of the impact of the high tariffs set by the United States upon South African exports to the world’s largest economy.
