The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has expelled a senior official who illegally awarded more than R1 billion worth of tenders to a single company.
It said its director for supply chain management (SCM) awarded 29 tenders to a single service provider in the space of two years — amounting to 60% of the department’s annual budget.
Released on Wednesday, January 8, the department’s statement did not name the official in question but his identity is known to African Times.
The man is a former ANC office bearer in the KwaDukuza sub-region just outside Durban.
He joined the department in August 2022 and allegedly started the scheme to enrich the unnamed consulting company with state tenders.
The department said the director was tasked with identifying and mitigating risk while avoiding irregular expenditure during procurement processes.
However, in early September 2024, several discrepancies were flagged against the official in
respect of the procurement of a certain consulting company.
These included missing documents in the procurement file, significant discrepancies between services requested and those procured, non-conducting of required check and balances and failing to ensure the fair awarding of contracts to bidders.
“Following this the SCM Director, who has been employed in the position since August 2022 was immediately placed on suspension with investigations initiated. Once concluded, the investigations found that one single firm was awarded a total of 29 contracts to the value of R1 164 440 398.03 or just over R1,1 billion.
“This meant that the firm held an unfair and unchecked monopoly over contracts issued by KZN Public Works and Infrastructure,” the department said in a statement.
The flamboyant official was also found guilty and dismissed on a further second charge, which includes his failure to implement the department’s cellphone policy and keeping a database of issued official mobile devices.
This resulted in the department paying for 57 active cellphone contracts issued to employees long after they had left.
“He was also found guilty of issuing himself up 4 official work phones, all together translating to
wasteful expenditure of R192 000 per month incurred by KZN Public Works and Infrastructure.”
KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer said he was pleased with how the process took a mere two months to conclude, which is sooner than it normally takes.
He also noted the fair process which was carried out, including the right to representation of the official who chose not to motivate mitigating punishment.
The fired official is yet to comment regarding the matter.
