Mandela funeral funds official caught up in tender row ​

10 December 2017 - 00:00 By SIPHE MACANDA and SABELO SKITI
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Marion Mbina-Mthembu was recently implicated by the public protector in her report in the looting of state funds meant for Nelson Mandela’s memorial and funeral.
Marion Mbina-Mthembu was recently implicated by the public protector in her report in the looting of state funds meant for Nelson Mandela’s memorial and funeral. 
Image: Supplied

A senior Eastern Cape official implicated in the looting of state funds earmarked for Nelson Mandela’s memorial and funeral services is embroiled in a new controversy over an unauthorised tender worth R171-million.

Marion Mbina-Mthembu, director-general in the Office of the Premier, applied to the National  Treasury to deviate from normal tender processes in awarding an IT contract to Cape Town-based Liquid Telecommunications.

The  Treasury said there was no reason for a deviation and that the contract should follow normal procedures, but a   payment was processed, which was eventually halted  by the  provincial treasury. 

Mbina-Mthembu was recently implicated by the public protector in her report in the looting of state funds meant for Mandela’s memorial and funeral. 

In her report, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane accused Mbina-Mthembu of  having “misdirected” the provincial government in 2013 into channelling about R300-million of taxpayers’ money to the Eastern Cape Development Corporation.

Read the full story on the Sunday Times website

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