Former board member of the South African Airways (SAA) Yakhe Kwinana has been released on R20,000 bail following her arrest on fraud allegations.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Kwinana appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday.
The accountant is accused of defrauding SAA.
“The charges emanate from her failure to disclose past contractual relationships with two entities, namely, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Nkonki Incorporated that were awarded a tender worth R59 million as joint auditors by the SAA for auditing services for the 2011/2 financial year,” said NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.
The State alleges that Kwinana, in her capacity as the chairperson of the audit committee of SAA and a member of its accounting authority, failed to comply fully with the fiduciary duties imposed on her by the provisions of section 50 of the PFMA.
She allegedly failed to disclose to either PwC, Nkonki or the board of directors of SAA or the audit committee of SAA that Kwinana and Associates, of which she was the sole director, had previous contractual relationships with PwC and Nkonki and thereby caused prejudice to the proper administration of the affairs of SAA.
“Her failure to disclose was also prejudicial to the public who are entitled to procurements by organs of state that are fully compliant with the prescripts of the Constitution.”
The matter was adjourned to January 29, 2025 for disclosure of the contents of the docket to the accused.
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