Pipes in the veld: MEC's hubby in big cash splash

Kwazulu-Natal local government MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube has been accused of dragging her feet in the probe into the water services crisis in a municipality where her husband received a questionable tender worth more than R60-million.

The rural communities of the ANC-controlled uMkhanyakude district municipality have alleged that Dube-Ncube is protecting her businessman husband, Sibusiso Ncube. The opposition Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said the MEC could not "investigate herself" and called on public protector Thuli Madonsela to probe the awarding of contracts in uMkhanyakude.

Water pipes worth more than R150-million were left in an open area in Jozini near the border with Swaziland and Mozambique by Ncube's company, Sinosa Construction, and another company, Hall Longmore, more than a year ago.

The pipes were meant to bring much needed relief to the thousands of waterless rural communities in five local municipalities that make up uMkhanyakude.

Sinosa was paid R69-million and Hall Longmore R76-million - contracts that the auditor-general, in 2012, found had been awarded without following competitive bidding processes.

Municipality insiders this week said the pipes had been procured in a "fiscal dumping" exercise because the municipality had been accused of underspending money earmarked for service delivery.

The pipes have been lying in the open, without any security, and construction of the pipeline has yet to begin.

But Ncube said his company had delivered the pipes to the unsecured "storage" site at the request of the municipality.

Sinosa's role, according to its CEO Pravin Naidoo, was only to supply and deliver the cement-lined steel pipes by April last year. "The municipality ... specified the location based on the future requirement of where the pipes would be installed," said Naidoo.

Kenny van Rooyen, CEO of Hall Longmore, also said that the company had merely been required to deliver pipes to "pipe yards".

He said he was not aware of the attorney-general's findings.

"In any event, Hall Longmore has no influence with regard to appointments made against legitimate quotations made [by the company]," he said.

According to Stats SA, fewer than one in five of the 600000 residents of the district - which includes Mtubatuba, Jozini, uMhlabuyalingana, Hlabisa and the Big Five False Bay local municipalities - have piped water in their houses. For everyone else, obtaining clean water is a daily struggle.

"Water supply is a crisis all over the district ... there is no plan to implement the water project. They just bought the pipes. If you incur expenditure, you must be able to prove that it benefits the people," said a high-ranking uMkhanyakude official.

Dube-Ncube dismissed the allegations as unfounded and said she had instituted a forensic investigation earlier this year.

But a councillor in Mtubatuba, Robert Bukhosini, accused the local government MEC of taking too long to address the water crisis.

"It's very possible that MEC Dube-Ncube is delaying this whole investigation because of her husband's involvement," he said.

An ANC member in Jozini, who asked not to be named, said: "We were so happy that the department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs decided to help us by putting the municipality under administration, but the situation is now worse than it was before."

The investigation ordered by Dube-Ncube follows two previous probes - one by the auditor-general in 2012 and another forensic report on the squandering of R27-million meant for water provision last year - which has created scepticism about the need for a third one.

Mabutho Ntshangase, a member of the ward 6 community in Mtubatuba, which has threatened to blockade the N2 highway linking KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga in protest at the water crisis, said the "endless" investigations were not helping.

Sources in the municipality said that nothing had been tabled before the council about the investigation Dube-Ncube says she has ordered.

"I'm highly sceptical of that investigation because nothing has been tabled before the municipality," said a senior official. "It's possible that the MEC is stalling. There can't be fairness in that process."

Blessed Gwala, an IFP member of the provincial legislature, expressed similar sentiments.

"You can't investigate yourself," he said. "This is beyond Dube-Ncube because her husband is involved. That's why we're saying that the public protector should investigate this matter. There are pipes lying around for years, and the question is why."

Dube-Ncube's spokesman, Lennox Mabaso, said there was no basis for the accusation that the MEC was dragging her feet.

The department would not hesitate to investigate any alleged wrongdoing, regardless of who was involved.

"Anyone who approaches ... Dube-Ncube with proof of wrongdoing is our partner in the fight against maladministration, fraud and corruption," he said.

"It's unfair to say the MEC is dragging her feet because there is evidence that she is doing something about this municipality."

Mabaso asked that the investigators be given space to do their work. Their "sophisticated" investigation would take time because the team had to go through the municipality with a fine-tooth comb.

Ncube was a regular donor to the Friends of Jacob Zuma Trust, which raised funds for the president's legal fight against corruption charges. The charges were dropped in 2009.

Company records show that Ncube, 46, has at least 44 active or dormant directorships in a range of businesses, many of them in the security industry.

Ncube and his wife, who often share a stately home on a private 30000m² estate in Gillits, one of Durban's most sought-after suburbs, hosted friends and relatives at a traditional wedding ceremony last month.

According to deeds records, Ncube owns several multimillion-rand properties, including one bought for R1.9-million cash in the upmarket northern Durban suburb of La Lucia.

He also owns a R3.95-million home in Kyalami Estate in Midrand, Gauteng, and a R1.85-million property in Durban's Kloof suburb.

Ncube and Dube-Ncube were married in October last year. Zuma and King Goodwill Zwelithini were among the 350 guests at the wedding.

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