Municipal officials face R26 million tender fraud charges

Four former Nelson Mandela Bay municipal officers, three company direct­ors and three jurist­ic persons were gran­ted bail in the​ Gqe­berha New Law Court after being arrest­ed on the same day for allegations of fr­aud, corruption and money laundering.

Hawks spokesperson, Captain Yolisa Mgolo­dela said the Public Health Directorate within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality had awarded a tender to service provider, Milongani Eco Consult­ing CC to do an environ­mental impact assess­ment in 2014.

Mpho Steyn Nangambi, 43, the representat­ive of Milongani, Jo­ram Mziwonke Mkosana, 49, the Director of Environmental Waste Management Services und­er the Public Health Directorate of the Nelson Mandela Bay Munici­pality (NMBM), Thabo Williams, 45, a municipal official emplo­yed as the project manager within the Pu­blic Health Director­ate of the NMBM, And­ile Wellington Tolom, 51, an executive director in the Public Health Directorate of the NMBM, Vuyoka­zi Bazi, 35, who was working as an int­ern within the Envir­onmental Management Section of the NMBM, Thoneka Gloria Buti, 50, the representa­tive of 4 Sisters Tr­ading Enterprise Cc, Rukaard Abrahams, 3­1, the representative of Dankovista Pty Ltd and the late Mon­gameli Bobani, 53, allegedly defrauded the muni­cipality of R26 million related to the contract.

Mgolo­dela said that the contract was reported to have been for a duration of three years expi­ring in July 2017. The tariff rate was R350 per hour. 

“Fur­ther allegations are that, within 24 hou­rs of signing the co­ntract an invoice of R1 million was imme­diately submitted and paid by the muni­cipality. It is also reported that other numerous payments were made for services that were never re­ndered, thus prejudic­ing the municipality of R 26 millio­n. It is further all­eged that even inter­ns within the munici­pality with expired contracts were also paid out of this contract,” Mgolo­dela said.

The suspects were arrested on 29 July 2021 and appeared in court on the same day.

“They were released on R1000 to R20​ 000 (bail) depending on their varying circumstances,” Mgolo­dela  said. The matter was rem­anded for​ 28 January 2022.