Special Investigating Units And Special Tribunals Act, 1996 (Act No. 74 of 1996)ProclamationsReferral of Matters to Existing Special Investigating Unit and Special TribunalDepartment of Science, Technology and Innovation; Technology Innovation Agency; Uniiversity of Kwazulu-Natal; and Council for Scientific and Industrial ResearchProclamation Notice 304 of 2025 |
Proclamation Notice 304
19 December 2025
GG 53891
PROCLAMATION NOTICE 304 of 2025
by the
PRESIDENT of the REPUBLIC of SOUTH AFRICA
WHEREAS allegations as contemplated in section 2(2) of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996 (Act No. 74 of 1996) (hereinafter referred to as the “the Act”), have been made in respect of the affairs of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (“the Department”); Technology Innovation Agency (“TIA”); University of KwaZulu-Natal (“UKZN”); and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (“CSIR”), hereinafter collectively referred to as (“the Institutions”);
AND WHEREAS the Institutions or the State may have suffered losses that may be recovered ;
AND WHEREAS I deem it necessary that the said allegations should be investigated and civil proceedings emanating from such investigation should be adjudicated upon;
NOW, THEREFORE, I hereby, under section 2(1) of the Act, refer the matters mentioned in the Schedule, in respect of the Board, for investigation to the Special Investigating Unit established by Proclamation No. R. 118 of 31 July 2001 and determine that, for the purposes of the investigation of the matters, the terms of reference of the Special Investigating Unit are to investigate as contemplated in the Act, any alleged—
| (a) | serious maladministration in connection with the affairs of the Institutions; |
| (b) | improper or unlawful conduct by the employees of the Institutions; |
| (c) | unlawful appropriation or expenditure of public money or property; |
| (d) | unlawful, irregular or unapproved acquisitive act, transaction, measure or practice having a bearing upon State property; |
| (e) | intentional or negligent loss of public money or damage to public property; |
| (f) | offence referred to in Parts 1 to 4, or section 17, 20 or 21 (in so far as it relates to the aforementioned offences) of Chapter 2 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 12 of 2004), and which offences were committed in connection with the affairs of the Institutions; or |
| (g) | unlawful or improper conduct by any person, which has caused or may cause serious harm to the interests of the public or any category thereof, |
which took place between 1 January 2021 and the date of publication of this Proclamation or which took place prior to 1 January 2021 or after the date of publication of this Proclamation, but is relevant to, connected with, incidental or ancillary to the matters mentioned in the Schedule to this Proclamation or involve the same persons, entities or contracts investigated under authority of this Proclamation, and to exercise or perform all the functions and powers assigned to or conferred upon the said Special Investigating Unit by the Act, including the recovery of any losses suffered by the Institutions or the State, in relation to the said matters in the Schedule.
Given under my Hand and the Seal of the Republic of South Africa at Pretoria this 13 day of November Two thousand and twenty-five.
President
By Order of the President-in-Cabinet:
Minister of the Cabinet
SCHEDULE
| 1. | The procurement of, or contracting for goods works or services in terms of the following contracts— |
| 1.1 | Development of a National Vaccine Manufacturing Strategy for South Africa (concluded between the Department and the TIA) in terms of Project Funding Agreement No. DSI/CON C2644/2022; |
| 1.2 | Finalisation of the Development of the Overarching Vaccine Development Manufacturing and Innovation Strategy and to Kick Start the Implementation of Catalytic Projects (concluded between the Department and the UKZN) in terms of Project Funding Agreement No. DSI/CON C2873/2022; |
| 1.3 | Initiating Virus Like Particles (VLP) Platform (concluded between the Department and the UKZN) in terms of Project Funding Agreement No. DSI/CON C3011/2023; and |
| 1.4 | To Support the Activities of the Research as it Relates to Initiating Virus Like Particles (VLP) Platform (concluded between the Department and the CSIR) in terms of Project Funding Agreement No. DSI/CON 3509/2024, |
by or on behalf of the Institutions, and payments made in relation thereto in a manner that was—
| (a) | not fair, competitive, transparent, equitable or cost-effective; or |
| (b) | contrary to applicable– |
| (i) | legislation; |
| (ii) | manuals, guidelines, practice notes, circulars or instructions issued by the National Treasury; or |
| (iii) | manuals, policies, procedures, prescripts, instructions or practices of or applicable to the Institutions, |
and any related unauthorised, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the Institutions or the State.
| 2. | Any irregular, unlawful or improper conduct, including serious maladministration and the causes thereof, by— |
| (a) | officials or employees of the Institutions; or |
| (b) | the applicable suppliers or service providers of the Institutions; or |
| (c) | any other person or entity, |
in relation to the allegations as set out in paragraph 1 of this Schedule.