WeeklySA_AdminPaid: The multimillion tender was discontinued with only 68 percent of the job done and full payment made
By WSAM Reporter
Embattled businessman, Edwin Sodi, who is currently on trial in the R255 million asbestos audit project scandal in the Free State High Court, is facing more woes after the North Gauteng High Court set aside the R292 million Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment plant tender and ordered his companies to pay back the profits of the multimillion-rand project.
The City of Tshwane on Friday welcomed the Court’s judgment declaring invalid the city’s 2019 decision to award the tender for the upgrade of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant in Hammanskraal to a consortium comprising Blackhead Consulting, NJR Projects and CMS Water Engineering. Sodi is director of Blackhead Consulting.
The companies have been ordered to repay to the City of Tshwane the profits made from the contract, with the High Court to determine the amount to be repaid following submission of expenses by the consortium within 60 days. Should the companies fail to make the submissions, the city would appoint an independent contractor to determine the expenses and calculate profits made from the tender.
The court found that the awarding of the 2019 multimillion rand tender did not comply with the legal and procedural requirements.
“The court’s decision affirms what we have long maintained – that contracts awarded through unethical and irregular processes undermine service delivery, compromise governance and erode public trust.
We assure the residents of Tshwane that this administration will act decisively to give full force and effect to the order,” the City of Tshwane said in a statement.
Blackhead was part of a joint venture contracted in 2019 to upgrade the waste water treatment plant in Hammanskraal. According to Corruption Watch, this tender was discontinued in June 2022 with only 68 percent of the work completed despite full payment having been made to contractors.
This led to the City of Tshwane terminating the contract in 2022 after the contractor abandoned the site. A forensic investigation which was launched the same year, established that the consortium lacked the expertise required by industry standards for a project of this nature. The probe also found that the consortium should have been disqualified from the even bidding.
The City of Tshwane later resolved to have these implicated companies blacklisted and asked the National Treasury to put them on the list of restricted suppliers who should be barred from doing any business in future with the State.
Sodi is currently been linked to charges of corruption relating to the R255 million asbestos audit project which was also brought before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry. He has appeared with several other accused, including former Free State Premier, Ace Magashule in the Free State High Court where they have pleaded not guilty. The trial in ongoing.
Meanwhile, work to complete the upgrades to the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant had progressed successfully. Phase 1B was underway after work on Phase 1A was completed ahead of schedule.
The Rooiwal wastewater treatment works had been a source of pollution, discharging raw or partially treated effluent into the Apies river, which, in turn, flowed into the Leeukraal dam, where the Temba water treatment works abstracted raw water for treatment and distribution as potable water to residents. The plant collected and treated about 70% of Tshwane’s wastewater.
The repair and upgrading of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works was being implemented by the Development Bank of Southern Africa in three phases. The first comprised the completion of a repair project which was started by the city and suspended at 68% completion and the full refurbishment of the 250-megalitre-a-day treatment plant to restore it to its optimum functioning capability.
In a previous statement, City of Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya assured residents that the city and the Department of Water and Sanitation were “all hands on deck” regarding both projects and that the city was still pursuing legal action against the previous contractors.
“We are pleased with the work being done by contractors appointed to finish the upgrades at the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works. However, we have not abandoned our efforts to hold accountable the companies that provided poor workmanship on this project. We have resubmitted our blacklisting application to the National Treasury,” Moya said at the time.
MIRROR Briefs
7 KILLED IN MASS SHOOTING
Seven people were killed in a mass shooting at a home in the Kanana Informal Settlement, Gugulethu, on the Cape Flats in the early hours of Saturday morning. The victims may have been socialising at home when they were attacked. Three other men who were also in the house at the time managed to escape unharmed.
The provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Andrè Traut, confirmed the incident which took place at a residence in the Kanana informal settlement. “At approximately 3.30am, SAPS members on patrol were alerted to the shooting. Upon arrival at the scene, officers discovered the bodies of seven men, all with gunshot wounds.
Preliminary information suggests that the victims were socialising in the kitchen when they were ambushed by unknown assailants. Three other men who were asleep elsewhere in the house at the time of the attack escaped unharmed,” Traut said. The motive for the crime is yet to be established.
Western Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, condemned the attack. He instructed detectives from the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit to explore every possible lead to uncover the truth behind the killings and ensure that those responsible were brought to justice. – Lehlohonolo Lehana
LAWYER GUILTY OF THEFT.
A former attorney has been convicted on four counts of theft by the Mpumalanga Specialised Commercial Crimes Court after defrauding clients of their Road Accident Fund (RAF) claims.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mantladi Jo-Anne Mmela, committed the crimes when she was practising as a sole practitioner between June 2019 and March 2022.
“The accused lodged claims against the Road Accident Fund on behalf of her clients which were subsequently paid out. The money was paid by the Road Accident Fund into the trust account of Mmela Incorporated Attorneys for the benefit of her clients, totalling over R4.1 million.
“The incident came to light after one of the victims reported that Mmela failed to pay her. An investigation ensued and led to the arrest of the accused in 2022,” the NPA said in a statement.
Mmela was subsequently granted bail. However, after absconding, she was re-arrested and remained in custody. “During trial, the accused pleaded not guilty and Senior State Advocate, Henry Nxumalo presented evidence of the witnesses to prove the allegations levelled against her. The accused was convicted on four counts of theft and the matter was postponed to 21 August 2025 for sentencing in the same court. – SAnews.
POLICE CHIEFS ON FRAUD RAP
Head of the Crime Intelligence division within the South African Police Service, Dumisani Khumalo, who was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport last week, has been granted bail of R10 000 by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
Khumalo, who was appointed in December 2022, appeared in court on Friday alongside six co-accused facing charges of corruption and fraud.
The co-accused are Crime Intelligence’s chief financial officer, Philani Lushaba, Gauteng head of Crime Intelligence, Josias Lekalakala, head of the Crime Intelligence’s analysis centre, Nozipho Madondo, technical support system manager in Crime Intelligence, Dineo Mokwele, Sydney Gabela from the SAPS technology service department and Phindile Ncube, who heads the SAPS vetting office. Khumalo and four of his colleagues were granted R10,000 bail each. The case was postponed to August 13, 2025.
Lushaba, who has a pending case, was denied bail. The senior police chiefs are accused of unlawful acquisition of two high-value properties, amongst other charges. The properties included a boutique hotel in Pretoria North purchased for R22.7 million and a commercial building in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal valued at R22.8 million. Both acquisitions are alleged to have been made without the requisite ministerial approval.
Khumalo’s arrest was also linked to the appointment of a 29-year-old woman as a police brigadier despite her alleged lack of experience. – Lehlohonolo Lehana.
E.CAPE DESTRUCTION COSTS R935m.
The Eastern Cape Province has officially been declared a national disaster zone in response to the widespread destruction caused by recent severe weather events. Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC, Zolile Williams, said the declaration, made under the Disaster Management Act (Act No. 57 of 2002), comes amid heavy rainfall, flooding, strong winds and snowfall that had battered large parts of the country, with the Eastern Cape being the hardest hit.
Highlighting the provincial government response to the June disaster, Williams said the Department of Social Development, in partnership with private sector organisations, had extended crucial psychosocial support to displaced families, bereaved communities and schools affected by the loss of learners.
“These services, which encompass counselling and emotional debriefing, are foundational to the healing and recovery process.”
The Department of Health had also deployed on-site healthcare services, providing medical assistance and replacing chronic medication that was swept away by the floods to those in need.
The floods caused extensive damage to road infrastructure, with the total repair estimated at R935 million. The Department of Transport has reprioritised R102 million from its budget, leaving a shortfall of R832 million. – SAnews
