South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) chief executive Themba Matlou is accused of approving a R30-million communications and stakeholder engagement tender intended to run for three years from 2025 to 2028, with R29 million allegedly spent in the first year.
Sources told the Mail & Guardian that the contract was being used to influence journalists and discourage reporting that could put Matlou in a negative light.
They said the media briefing sessions, which were organised by Sassa’s chief director of communications, Paseka Letsatsi, had contributed to journalists’ reluctance to publish allegations against the agency’s chief executive.
Invoices the M&G has seen show a batch of payments made to event production company Chulumanco Lilitha within the first year of the contract, totalling R29 038 816.33.
“The media briefing sessions that Paseka has been organising since December 2024, when Matlou was appointed to act as CEO, have everything to do with why journalists are not publishing any story where Matlou is involved,” one of the sources said.
The briefings, allegedly to manage public reporting, began in December 2024, after the then-Sassa CEO, Totsie Memela, was placed on pre-cautionary suspension and Matlou was appointed to act in her position. He was subsequently appointed permanently.
The sources said some journalists had been invited to briefing sessions at hotels across the provinces. During a week in mid-September 2026, Sassa’s executive committee met at the International Convention Centre in East London. A staff engagement session took place at the Regent Hotel, while a media engagement session was held at the Kennaway Hotel.
The sources said the arrangements had created the perception that Matlou and Letsatsi had cultivated relationships with journalists to pre-vent unfavourable reporting about the CEO.
Matlou is also accused of exercising excessive control over Sassa’s bid evaluation committee (BEC), including assuming responsibility for approving the appointment of its members.
An internal memorandum shows that Matlou has taken over BEC appointment approvals under his office.
The source said that gave him the ability to select committee members who would follow his instructions about which service providers should be appointed.
They said that in a previous communications tender in 2021, people associated with Matlou had improperly stored bid documents, which called the integrity of the process into question.
A second source said that allowing a BEC member to retain bid documents could create opportunities for confidential information to be disclosed to preferred bidders, potentially enabling them to adjust their proposals or pricing.
“There have been several allegations of maladministration and corruption against Matlou but he was never held accountable for any of them.
“Investigations against him fell flat for whatever reasons. There are complaints about his conduct that have been reported to the Public Protector and the Public Service Commission but no investigations have been made,” the source said.
Matlou has faced allegations of using state resources for political activities. A 2018 video reportedly showed him campaigning for a position on the Gauteng ANC provincial executive committee, allegedly using state funds while serving as the regional executive manager at Sassa’s Gauteng office.
The Public Protector later cleared him of irregular use of funds.
However, a 2023 Public Protector report found irregularities involving Matlou and other senior officials that cost Sassa R278 million while he was the Gauteng regional executive.
The then-social development minister, Sisisi Tolashe, appointed Matlou to act as Sassa CEO after Memela’s suspension in 2024. President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed Tolashe from her cabinet post in May 2026 after a cascade of high-profile corruption and misconduct scandals against her.
Shortly after she was fired, the ANC integrity commission instructed her to resign as an MP and as head of the ANC Women’s League.
Tolashe faced severe blowback over two luxury BAIC Beijing X55 SUVs, valued at between R400 000 and R500 000 each, which Chinese representatives reportedly donated to the ANCWL.
She faced nepotism accusations for appointing her special adviser’s 22-year-old niece as the acting chief of staff, despite the individual allegedly lacking the necessary experience and lying on her CV.
Troubled legacy: The then-social development minister, Sisisi Tolashe, appointed Matlou to act as Sassa CEO in 2024. She was fired two years later, amid corruption and misconduct scandals. Photo: Supplied
An investigation by the Public Service Commission (PSC) confirmed that Tolashe irregularly hired a state-paid food aide, Nomathamsanqa Khuhlane, to perform private domestic and childcare duties at Tolashe’s private residence. The aide’s government salary was roughly R15 800 a month. She was forced to transfer about R7 800 of it each month into an account controlled by Tolashe’s daughter, Khanyisa, to pay for household expenses.
The irregular extension of former director-general Peter Netshipale’s contract from one year to five years placed Tolashe in the cross-hairs of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who issued a scathing rebuke, ordering Tolashe to halt disciplinary proceedings against Netshipale and withdraw advertisements for his replacement.
This followed chief communications director Lumka Oliphant’s dismissal. She was fired on 17 October 2025 as after a period of precautionary suspension. The department initially accused her of leaking information to the media regarding Tolashe’s R3 million trip to New York, alongside allegations of media mismanagement during her tenure.
The Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council recently ruled that the firing of Oliphant was procedurally and substantively unfair.
The council ruled that Oliphant must return to work on 1 November 2026 and receive the same terms and benefits as she had before her axing, as well as R1.53 million back pay, equivalent to 12 months’ salary.
Her reinstatement puts into question the tenure of communication director Sand Godlwana who was transferred from Sassa in KwaZulu- Natal to the department of social development’s national office in Pretoria. The department allegedly spent R670 590.50 on luxury hotel accommodation for Godlwana over seven months between October 2025 and May 2026.
Sources allege that Matlou’s appointment as head of Sassa forms part of a broader trend of irregular appointments in social development. They allege that other suitably qualified executive managers in the agency could have been appointed to act in the role but that Matlou was moved from the Gauteng regional office instead.
“He lobbied to be appointed to the position of CEO with the help of the chief director of communications, Paseka Letsatsi. They are both ANC members and they knew who to talk to, to make his appointment possible,” the source said.
Another source said the absence of applications from other executive managers when the permanent CEO position was advertised raised questions about whether Matlou had been regarded as the top candidate. “None of these executive managers applied for the CEO’s position when it was advertised early last year, probably because they already knew that Matlou was the preferred candidate for the CEO position,” the source said.
The sources further allege that companies appointed to provide communications and marketing services might have made questionable withdrawals from their accounts to meet demands for kickbacks by Matlou and Letsatsi.
“The maladministration at Sassa has been going on for years. It has worsened since Matlou took office as CEO.
“Still, for some reason, the internal audit and AG team, audit committee, and social development portfolio committee have not been able to detect any of these. They are content with what is reported without analysing and probing further,” the source said.
Questions were sent to Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi and communications officer Omphemetse Malopyane two week ago. At the time of publication this week, they had not responded.