Public Works Minister releases corruption report
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Dean Macpherson, revealed the outcomes of a forensic investigation into the Pressure Swing Adsorption Oxygen Plant tender.
PricewaterhouseCoopers investigated the over R800-million deal.
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Daily Maverick
a day ago
- Daily Maverick
Makana Municipality faces allegations of fraud and corruption over missing R2.6m water pump
The Makana Local Municipality lost a valuable asset meant to help supply much-needed water. This week marked three years since the Makana Local Municipality in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, paid more than R2.6-million for a mysteriously missing water pump. On Thursday, 31 July, the Makana council was set to discuss efforts to find the pump, which is crucial to provide water to residents of the iconic university town. Lungile Mxube, a councillor for the Makana Citizens Front, laid a charge of fraud and corruption against the municipal manager and the mayor last week over the 'loss' of the pump and related political manoeuvring that followed. Part of his complaint was that they had failed to recoup the municipality's losses for the pump. Makhanda has two major sources that provide water to the town. One of them, a dam in Howieson's Poort, has a pump station that ideally needs three pumps, but only had two. Then, in July 2022, one of them was sent in for a service and never returned, or a new one was ordered and never supplied – nobody is quite sure what happened – despite the municipality making a payment of R2.6-million under a service level agreement with the supplier, Manco Business Enterprise in East London. The municipality's former director of infrastructural services and engineering, Asanda Gindana, was fired in November 2023 for paying for the pump that disappeared, among other things. She approached the Local Government Bargaining Council in November 2024 to argue that she had been unfairly dismissed, and the municipality was ordered to pay her R634,000 in damages. Gindana didn't testify at this hearing. She had been charged with the unlawful payment of R2.6-million to Manco Business Enterprise for the supply and installation of one of the Howieson's Poort water pumps without doing due diligence. But even during this legal action the municipality took against her, there was no evidence explaining what had ultimately happened to the pump. One of the contested points was the question of whether the payment was for goods received or a service, and whether it was a prepayment or not. Searching in vain Jay Kruuse from the Public Service Accountability Monitor said he wished there was 'concrete evidence' that could be used to find the pump. 'There were allegations that a supplier was withholding the release of a pump as they had not been paid for repairs to another pump, but whether the missing pump is one and the same remains to be established,' Kruuse said. Phone calls to Manco Business Enterprise, based in Sterling Street in East London, went unanswered and emails that had been used by its directors during the tender process bounced back. Mxube has now asked the Hawks to step in. In an affidavit explaining his opening a case against the municipal manager, Pumelelo Kate, and executive mayor Yandisa Vara for contravening the Municipal Finance Act, he writes: 'It is reported that, on or about 25 July 2022, the former director of the Infrastructure and Engineering Department allegedly and wrongfully facilitated a payment of R2.694.029.63 to a private company known as Manco Business Enterprise for the supply, installation and delivery of a water pump to the Makana Local Municipality. 'I asked the accounting officer [Kate] a question as to whether the money was paid to a private business and whether a pump was delivered, and if it was delivered, where it is stationed, so that I can do an in loco inspection to assess its condition. 'The accounting officer confirmed on record that indeed, the amount mentioned was paid and no pump was delivered and no explanation was given as to why the pump was never delivered.' Mxube said Vara, municipal officials and Manco Business Enterprise should be charged for fraud and corruption over the missing pump. 'Both the accounting officer and mayor as the political head are responsible for this unlawful, irregular, wasteful, fruitless and reckless spending which resulted in Makana Municipality having incurred an unlawful expenditure of over R3.2-million. 'This total of irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure payments breaks down as the amount of R2,694,029.63 that was unlawfully paid to a private business company … and an amount of R634,696.25 being the damages awarded by the Bargaining Council for the unlawful termination of the former director's employment contract,' Mxube adds in his affidavit. 'Lost control of pumps' Emeritus professor Philip Machanick said the Makana Business and Residents' Association also applied for information on the missing pump, and the other pumps used by the municipality for potable water, but never received a straight answer. He said at first the municipality just ignored the application, and the association had to threaten it with contempt of court proceedings to get answers. The municipality did not answer all its questions and still did not say where the missing pump could be, but it also became alarmingly clear, Machanick explained, that Makana was also not in full control of the other pumps in its possession and could not accurately say where they were. 'These are major assets. It is not like putting down your cellphone and forgetting where you put it. You can't just lose a thing like that,' he added. Machanick said the window for the municipality to bring civil proceedings against Manco Business Enterprise was closing because of a legal prescription allowing only three years to take steps to recover money. 'When we ask the municipality,' Machanick said, 'it claims the case is sub judice, but until today we have not seen court papers or anything like that showing that it is trying to get back the money paid for the pump.' He added that the case was with the Hawks now and said the association believed it had a strong case. The Makhanda community has been experiencing a severe water crisis for more than a decade, stemming from a combination of ageing infrastructure, financial mismanagement and drought. Residents have faced prolonged water shortages, inconsistent supply and contaminated water due to the municipality's struggles to maintain and upgrade its water systems. The Makana Local Municipality did not respond to a request for comment or questions about whether it knows where the missing pump is. DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
The Herald
2 days ago
- The Herald
IDT CEO Tebogo Malaka placed on suspension over R800m oxygen tender
The board of trustees of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) has placed its CEO Tebogo Malaka on precautionary suspension with immediate effect. The decision on Friday follows the board's receipt and consideration of a final forensic report this week relating to procurement irregularities in the R800m pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plant tender. The investigation, ordered by public works and infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson, recommended disciplinary action against Malaka, general manager for supply chain management Dr Molebedi Sisi and other officials. The IDT said its precautionary suspension was aligned with internal policies and the Labour Relations Act and was instituted to allow for an independent and unhindered investigation into the serious matters raised. 'The board emphasises this is not a disciplinary sanction. Ms Malaka remains an employee of the organisation and has not been found guilty of any misconduct.' To ensure continuity and organisational stability, the board asked Macpherson to second a senior official to serve as acting CEO. The minister seconded Carmen-Joy Abrahams to the role with immediate effect. TimesLIVE
The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
‘Dishonest' Judge Makhubele found guilty and faces impeachment
JSC upholds Tribunal ruling. Now Parliament will have to decide Makhubele's fate. Suspended Gauteng Judge Nana Makhubele is facing impeachment after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) found her guilty on two charges of gross misconduct. The complaints – instigated by #UniteBehind – were that she sat as a judge at the same time that she was chair of the Prasa interim board and, while there, she involved herself in state capture. The latter was in relation to matters involving the Siyaya Group of companies in that she authorised, in an alleged 'secret settlement deal', payments from Prasa to Siyaya of R56-million while sidelining the internal legal team. Judge Makhubele faces impeachment In a statement released on Friday, the small JSC (sitting without members of Parliament) said it had considered the report of the Tribunal established to probe the allegations. 'Prior to considering the matter, the commission called for written representations from Judge Makhubele and #UniteBehind. 'These were duly considered along with the report of the Tribunal, the record and the core bundle,' it said. The complaint in Part A was that Judge Makhubele served in a position which undermined the independence of the judiciary. In doing so, she breached the separation of powers, failing to sever professional ties on her appointment to the judiciary. And that she occupied an office for profit and requested special dispensation regarding her appointment. Judge Makhubele denied the allegations and alleged the (then) Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo had consented to her starting her appointment in April 2018 rather than 1 January 2018. ALSO READ: Judge Nana Makhubele found guilty of gross misconduct The Tribunal found that on 2 November 2017, Mlambo informed Makhubele that she had been appointed and would begin work on 1 January 2018. She had previously been informed by Mlambo that her name would be forwarded as one of the successful candidates. In November, she appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Transport and disclosed that she had been appointed as a judge and would assume her position in January. In December 2017, she emailed Mlambo with a request that she only start work on 1 April. His response was that the President had already made the appointment. At a meeting that month he informed her that it was too late to change her starting date. Mlambo's evidence was corroborated by his deputy, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba. Abrupt resignation The Tribunal, chaired by retired judge Achmat Jappie, said it was common cause that she had made no mention of her appointment at Prasa to Mlambo. She failed to commence her duties on 1 January. Her version, that Mlambo had agreed to her starting later, was 'most unlikely' and her evidence 'was deliberately misleading and unambiguously insufficient' to cast any doubt on the credible evidence of Mlambo. The JSC said these findings clearly supported the conclusion that Judge Makhubele was guilty of gross misconduct and that she had been dishonest. READ MORE: Suspended judge Makhubele explains how she landed Prasa job Regarding the complaint in Part B, #UniteBehind had alleged that her conduct during her tenure as chairperson of the Prasa board was dishonest, lacking integrity and unethical. The Tribunal said the facts were that she took up the position at the end of October 2017. Then she 'abruptly resigned' in March 2018. Prior to her appointment, there were four claims by different entities within the Siyaya Group that were vigorously defended by Prasa. Judge Makhubele's version problematic Judge Makhubele alleged that the board had taken a resolution to settle these claims but was unable to produce the proof of this. She personally conveyed the decision to Francois Botes, an advocate who was acting on behalf of the Siyaya entities. She gave Botes correspondence to assist him to obtain default judgment against Prasa. The Tribunal's evidence leader called four witnesses regarding these allegations. Judge Makhubele disputed their evidence but provided no counter evidence. 'The Tribunal concluded that on the evidence before it, the version of Judge Makhubele was intrinsically problematic, inconsistent and amounted to a bare denial in the face of vastly credible evidence to the contrary on crucial aspects of the matter,' the JSC said in its statement on Friday. READ MORE: Suspended judge denies fault in serving dual government role 'The Tribunal specifically noted the absence of a record indicating who had taken the decision to settle the Siyaya matters as well as her conduct in assisting Adv Botes to obtain default judgment against Prasa.' The JSC said the Tribunal had found her guilty of only misconduct in this regard. 'The allegations underpinning these charges relate to dishonest conduct which qualifies as gross misconduct,' it said. The JSC is expected to recommend to the National Assembly that Makhubele be impeached. This requires a two thirds majority vote. The President must then formally remove her from office. This article was republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.
