Ex KZN Treasury head denied leave to appeal 15-year jail term

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has dismissed an application for leave to appeal the conviction and sentence of former head of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Treasury, Dumisani Sipho Derrick Shabalala.

Shabalala was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for fraud, 15 years’ imprisonment for corruption, 10 years’ imprisonment for money laundering and 5 years’ imprisonment for contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Regional Spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the sentences were ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an effective 15 years’ imprisonment.

Appeal

“He advised the court that he wanted to make an application for leave to appeal his sentence and conviction. The court allowed this and Shabalala’s bail was extended until today.”

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“However, following today’s refusal of the application for leave to appeal, Shabalala’s bail has been cancelled and he will have to start serving his sentence,” Kara said.

Conviction

Shabalala’s conviction relates to his receipt of R1.5 million from Intaka Investments, for the acquisition of ‘Wataka’ water purification plants valued at R44 million.

The offence occurred between 2004 and 2007, when Shabalala formed a relationship with Uruguayan businessman, Gaston Savoi, and Intaka Investments.

Shabalala then travelled to Brazil to view the purification equipment and on his return to South Africa, he wrote to the then MEC Dr Zweli Mkhize, recommending that monies be allocated from the poverty alleviation fund for the acquisition of the water purification plants from Intaka.

Kara said the process culminated in the awarding of a contract for twenty-two ‘Wataka’ plants.

“Shabalala was the chairperson of the procurement committee that awarded the contract.”

Courts Findings

The Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Advocate Elaine Zungu, welcomed the court’s findings in refusing this application.

“This is evidence that KZN is making strides in our fight against corruption. We will continue with our mandate of rooting out corruption, especially in the government sector. We commend the stellar work done by the prosecution team and the investigation team from the Hawks,” Zungu said.

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