EKURHULENI – Co-operative Governance minister Pravin Gordhan’s announcement that he will request the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to investigate long-running allegations of tender irregularities in the Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality, has been welcomed by the DA.
It is alleged that road and transport tenders worth just over R100-million were awarded irregularly by the metro. Despite these serious allegations having arisen in 2013, no concrete action has been taken by the municipality to investigate the matter.
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Clr Bill Rundle, DA spokesperson and shadow MMC for the Ekurhuleni caucus, roads and transport, said in a statement: “City manager Khaya Ngema, who has been implicated in the irregular awarding of the tender and is being investigated by the Public Protector, ignored a council resolution to have the contracts probed. Executive mayor Mondli Gungubele subsequently announced that he would approach the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate this matter,” Rundle said.
He added that questions posed by the DA to previous MMC for Roads and Transport, Thumbu Mahlangu, have also elicited vague and evasive answers.
“The lack of action from the municipality suggests that senior officials are trying to cover up corruption and irregularities related to the awarding of these tenders. This belief is strengthened by the fact that six officials who were suspended on allegations of tender fraud in February 2014, were reinstated without any explanation from the metro.”
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According to the DA, the Public Protector’s office has revealed that accusations have been made against Ngema on this matter, including:
• that contracts were signed off by him to companies allegedly with close associations to senior municipal employees;
• that he signed off numerous contracts over R10-m without consultation, which is against the law; and
• that he signed off contracts to companies that did not have the capacity to deliver and that contracts were inflated at the last minute so companies were paid far above the initial price.
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“It is crucial that we get answers on these serious allegations. Minister Gordhan’s announcement that he will be requesting MEC Jacob Mamabolo’s department to investigate these accusations is therefore a welcome step in the right direction.”
Rundle said it was critical that the city manager and other senior officials implicated co-operated with this investigation and provided all required information to the provincial department.
“Mr Ngema’s past attempts to block an independent investigation raises questions over whether this is possible. We call on mayor Gungubele to consider suspending all those implicated in this matter, including Mr Ngema, pending the outcome of the provincial department’s investigation.
“It is vital that we get to the bottom of these allegations and that anyone found guilty of tender corruption is held accountable for their actions, no matter what position they hold in the metro.”
