The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) on June 29 and 30 effected the arrests of the Cala-based Sakhisizwe Local Municipality’s former municipal manager, Dumile Mvulane (59), municipal project manager, Nothemba Ntlantsana-Toyi (45) and the director of Sky-High Engineering Consulting, a private civil engineering company, Claudius Nhawu (42), on tender fraud.
The trio briefly appeared in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on June 30, where they were granted bail of R10 000 each.
The trio were arrested by the East London based Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation on charges of fraud and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
“It is alleged that during the 2017 and 2018 financial year, Sakhisizwe Local Municipality embarked on a sports field uplifting project in Elliot Town. The project was allocated R12 million and a tender was advertised, and companies submitted their documents for bidding,” said Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela.
“It is further alleged that the bidding committee nominated the deserving company and forwarded the name to the municipal manager at the time, who is reported to have changed the name without providing reasons to the treasury. A civil engineering company which was also appointed for quantification is alleged to have escalated the costs thus exceeding the budget by more than R4.9 million,” said Mgolodela.
Mgolodela added that the auditor-general discovered the discrepancy, and a complaint was lodged with the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in East London for probing in August 2019.
The trio’s court case was postponed to August 1, for the addition of the other accused, who are yet to be arrested.
