Contractors submit huge invoices after month one, court hears in Gumede waste collection trial

Just one month after four new contractors were appointed by eThekwini Municipality to handle waste collection in townships, they presented “huge invoices” which threatened to suck dry the allocated budget within two or three months.

This was the evidence of a now retired senior official who was testifying on Tuesday in the ongoing R320m racketeering and corruption trial of former mayor Zandile Gumede and 21 others.

The state alleges that Gumede and others manipulated the award of the tender to four companies to promote radical economic transformation (RET) and to give kickbacks to a “patronage network” which included community-based contractors (CBCs), business forums and the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association who were aligned to the RET faction in the ANC.

The witness, Mr A, cannot be named after Durban high court judge Sharmaine Balton ruled that he, and other municipal officials who are still to take the stand, cannot be identified after a shooting incident at one of their homes.

Mr A told the court that one of his former deputies, Robert Abbu, accused number four, had been made the head of special projects.

He said the contracts of the 27 companies which were handling the township waste collection contracts were due to expire in November and December 2017.

The contracts had been put out to tender but, with the volume of potential tenders, it had not been possible to properly evaluate them in time.

He then sought authority to put out a tender for a three-month interim contract.

While this was under way, waste collection was done “internally” using Durban Solid Waste fleet trucks and employees.

But in mid-December, his operations manager informed him that these services were no longer required and that Abbu had said new contractors had been hired.

“I was relieved,” Mr A said. “But I was surprised at the speed at which the contracts were approved.”

He said he was never made aware of the process for the appointments and had played no part in it.

In the middle of January, he had been in his administration assistant’s office when an official from supply chain management (SCM) was present.

“She [the SCM official] was clutching some papers behind her back. I asked her what she was hiding and she said she was not allowed to show me. She was behaving coyly.

“She showed me the top document. It was the award of a contract signed by the city manager [Sipho Nzuza, accused number three]. There were no prices. It just advised the successful company that it had been awarded the contract.”

He said he now knew the company Uzuzinekele Trading [accused number 14] was owned by Zithele Mkhize [accused number 13] because Mkhize had come to visit him at his office regarding payment.

While there were indications on the document that it had been copied to him, he never received it and never saw it again until he was shown it by Leo Saunders of Integrity Forensic Solutions (IFS) during the investigation into the award of the contracts.

Mr A said his involvement in the running of the contracts was “nil”.

That was handled by Abbu.

It was only towards the end of January 2018 — when Abbu was on sick leave — that he had been presented with the payment certificates.

“I was very uneasy. The first month was so high. These were six-month contracts and it would only take two to three months for the budget to be depleted completely.”

Mr A said he had discussed the matter with the head of treasury Sandile Mnguni and city manager Nzuza who told him to sign because the contractors and their employees needed to be paid.

“The pressure on the contractors was great… their workers had marched to our offices,” he said.

Gumede is alleged to be the kingpin of the racketeering “enterprise”.

She is in the dock with Abbu, former ANC senior councillor Mondli Mthembu, Sandile Ngcobo, the deputy head of supply chain management, Nzuza, his wife Cynthia Nzuza, and ANC councillors Mthokozisi Nojiyeza, Sduduzo Khuzwayo and Bhekokwakhe Phewa.

The four companies which scored the alleged corrupt contracts are Uzuzinakele, Ilanga La Mahlase Pty Ltd, Omphile Thabang Projects and El Shaddai Holdings Group.

The case continues on Thursday.

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