A Hawks investigator is in the process of collecting statements from at least six Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) members in the provincial Department of Agriculture regarding a case of fraud and corruption.
The Hawks are investigating two tenders that were supposed to end last year under a registered Nelspruit Police Station case number.
This publication can exclusively reveal that a police captain attached to the Hawks’ National Anti-corruption Unit started interviewing these officials on Tuesday, February 11.
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The Hawks requested that the department have six members of the BEC, four women and two men, make themselves available for statements from Tuesday until the end of the week.
The department has also been requested to provide a boardroom or office in which the investigator must be accommodated while taking down the statements.
A leaked letter that the Hawks sent to the department has revealed certain details of the investigations. “This office is conducting an investigation in respect of the above-mentioned two tenders concerning allegations of fraud, corruption and other related crimes. According to the tender documents already received, the two tenders were scheduled to end on October 31, 2024. The department needs to indicate if they did end or if an extension was applied for and granted or not,” reads the letter, a copy of which is in Lowveld Media’s possession.
The letter further requests that the department provide certified copies of the outstanding payment advices and financial statements containing a breakdown of the expenditure for each service provider in respect of both tenders, dating back to 2021. The Hawks are also seeking the documents for any additional funding that was requested and/or granted during the three-year period.
“The requested documents must be accompanied by an affidavit to support the given information,” reads the letter.
Lowveld Media can further exclusively reveal that the companies under surveillance include Izandla Ziyagezana Trading 44, Thulatshepo General Trading, Siyanda and Thabo, Phingoshe Holdings, Nutri SA, Nuna Investments, Ntlemo Projects, Mtakwe2 Projects, Mochabane 1975 Construction, Makarapa Holding, Lemjo Trading, Give Me Four Trading and Projects and 17 Abande.
The Hawks’ national spokesperson, Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, confirmed the ongoing investigations into the provincial Department of Agriculture. “The investigation is still ongoing. We cannot confirm how many people of interest are involved as the investigation team is still busy,” she said. “Any other information that is part of investigations cannot be made public while it is ongoing so as to protect its integrity.”.
The provincial Department of Agriculture’s spokesperson, Zanele Shabangu, promised to comment on this matter as soon as a response was ready.
