John Steenhuisen’s missing R500 million

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen cannot provide details about a forensic audit of his department’s dubious R500 million project.

Last year, Steenhuisen raised concerns about the Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) project.

Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) is a South African state-owned animal vaccine manufacturing company.

Its mandate is to prevent and control animal diseases that impact food security, human health, and livelihoods.

It plays a key role in South Africa in preventing and controlling animal diseases that impact food security, human health, and livelihoods.

The facility must ensure vaccine affordability and accessibility through varied distribution channels.

However, many agricultural community members have raised concerns about the OBP not fulfilling its mandate.

The project’s failure has left South Africa’s agricultural sector with a huge shortage of much-needed vaccines.

The company is also under fire for its accounting standards and for money that is either missing or unaccounted for.

In the 2023 and 2024 financial years, Onderstepoort Biological Products received a qualified audit from the Auditor General (AG).

In its latest annual report, the AG said it could not obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to substantiate certain amounts.

The Auditor General previously revealed that a large portion of a grant given to Onderstepoort Biological Products in 2013 was unspent and unaccounted for.

The AG further highlighted that Onderstepoort Biological Products is not following basic auditing standards.

In August 2024, Steenhuisen said he remained very concerned about the project, which has been given R500 million to revamp the facility.

“A large part of the R500 million went missing and is unaccounted for,” he said. He added that a forensic audit would help reveal where the money went and how it was spent.

The DA said it “welcomed the decisive action being taken by Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen to finally institute a forensic audit”.

“The DA stands with members of the agricultural community in raising our total dissatisfaction with OBP not fulfilling its mandate,” the DA’s Willie Aucamp said.

“It is clear that something untoward is going on at OBP, and this investigation into OBP is therefore welcomed.”

“This development is a crucial step toward restoring integrity and accountability within the sector.”

However, five months after Steenhuisen said he would launch the forensic audit, there has been no feedback on the matter.

BusinessTech asked Steenhuisen for an update on the investigation, but he could not provide any details.

All his spokesperson could say was, “We will get back to you as soon as we receive the report back”.

Former Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza takes on Steenhuisen

It is unclear whether former Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza’s aggression about the issue influenced the forensic audit or Steenhuisen’s silence about the issue.

After Steenhuisen announced his concerns about the Onderstepoort Biological Products project, Didiza slated his comments.

Didiza, who serves as the Speaker of the National Assembly, said that during her tenure, the OBP board and management dealt with this matter.

She added that the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development also addressed the issue.

“Details of this matter will be found in the annual reports of OBP, including the audit report,” Didiza said.

“A forensic report on the utilisation of some of the funds was done, and it enabled the OBP to take some of the concerns of sub-contracting to the Special Investigative Unit (SIU).”

Didiza said Steenhuisen should be cautious about what he communicates on the media, as this could have unintended and disastrous consequences.

She said she tried to assist Steenhuisen in understanding the intricacies of the department and its entities during the handover process.

However, she said this effort seemed inadequate and offered her continued assistance with this and other matters.

Didiza believed it was inappropriate to make definitive statements where investigations are ongoing by law enforcement agencies.

She said it creates an impression that the previous administration did not address these challenges.