Details of alleged interference, fraud and an intricate network of corruption linked to eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede and councillor Mondli Mthembu have been laid bare in the Durban Commercial Crime Court.

Gumede was arrested on Tuesday morning, before making her appearance in a packed court room, after she and Mthembu handed themselves over to police.

While Gumede was granted bail of R50 000, details by investigating Hawks officer Lieutenant Colonel Ngoako Mphaki implicate her and Executive Committee (exco) councillor Mthembu in a web of corruption in Durban Solid Waste (DSW).

An affidavit by Mphaki, read out by senior State prosecutor Ashika Lucken, also put eThekwini Metro Deputy Head of Strategic and New Developments Robert Abbu, at the center of the multimillion-rand scandal.

The three are accused of using political position to influence the awarding of a Durban Solid Waste (DSW) contract.

Among others, they face charges of breaching sections of the Municipal Finance Management Act, Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act, Prevention of Organised Crime Act and the Local Government Municipal Services Act.

“Gumede and Mthembu played a major role in the award of the contract to the four suppliers. Collective evidence obtained indicates that Abbu, Gumede and Mthembu and the four suppliers conspired during the period that the process related to the appointment was processed,” Mphaki’s affidavit read.

How did they allegedly do it?

According to Mphaki, DSW allegedly appointed service providers to collect refuse in eThekwini for three years.

The contract was expiring in or around 2016, and the Supply Chain Management (SCM) process to appoint suppliers for a new term was to commence at least a year before the expiry of the existing contract.

Abbu allegedly circumvented normal procedure by using the “Section 36 clause” – a clause that allows certain decision to be taken due to an emergency.

He restricted invitations of quotations to four suppliers including Ilanga La Mahlase Projects Pty Ltd, Omphile Thabang Projects and El Shaddai Holdings Groups CC.

Mphaki said he then divided the scope of work that was undertaken by 27 contractors and recommended it be performed by four suppliers.

“He also amended the scope of the original tender to include a line item in respect of illegal dumping, with no limit amount to what the four suppliers could claim from eThekwini. The annual budget for eThekwini illegal dumping was R5m,” the affidavit said.

Mphaki said he facilitated and processed recommendations that the four suppliers be awarded the contract for refuse collection for a period of three months, at a cost of R45m, with an unlimited budget for illegal dumping.

“Illegal dumping was then used by the four suppliers to bill eThekwini with impunity, to the extent that more than R130m in six months was billed, despite having approved R5m for illegal dumping and a total budget of R45m for the entire refuse collection contract.”

Corruption and intimidation

Mphaki said he obtained evidence indicating that Gumede influenced the appointment of senior personnel at the components of eThekwini responsible for SCM, legal and human resources using her political status.

He said head of the City’s integrity and investigation unit (CIIU) highlighted political interference from Gumede and Mthembu on various occasions.

They did so by influencing the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), the Executive Committee (Exco), as well as the Auditor General (AG).

Mphaki also said Gumede would instruct the Bid Specification Committee (BSC), Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) and the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) – mayors are not allowed to be involved in tender specification processes.

“The SCM committees remain dysfunctional, as they continue to be directed by Mayor Gumede and Councillor Mthembu in their operational functions.”

Mthembu also summoned the four suppliers to City Hall, where he instructed them to sub-contract their illegal dumping portion of the contract to other suppliers

“This amounts to councillor Mthembu approving an award of a sub-contractor without following the SCM protocol, as well as him as a councillor descending into the SCM arena.”

He added that, in April 2019, Gumede incited a march to City Hall to request the removal of the city manager on the grounds that he refused to take orders from her to make irregular payments in respect of the DSW tender.

He said there was evidence that Gumede and Mthembu orchestrated the march.

Bail was set at R50 000. The case will resume on August 8.

A truck driver was killed on the N1 near De Doorns in the Western Cape when a rock was allegedly thrown through his windshield on Sunday morning, Times Live reported.

SA Long-Distance Truckers wrote on its Facebook page: “The Time Link driver who sadly passed away in the early hours of [Sunday] morning – our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this difficult time. A life taken too soon. A life taken at its peak.”

Fleetwatch wrote on its Facebook page: “[A]t 05:00 [on Sunday], [the truck] was passing through De Doorns when some criminals threw a boulder from a bridge at his truck. The boulder hit his windscreen, smashed through it and hit the driver who then lost control of the vehicle.

“There were two drivers in the cab – both South Africans – and while the uninjured driver was trying to free his colleague who was trapped between the steering wheel and the seat, a marauding mob descended on the truck. Some went for the goods on the trailer while others climbed into the cab to steal whatever they could lay their hands on.”

#StopHighwayTerrorism @N3Route @SANRAL_za @SALTruckers
@Abramjee@PigSpotter
Truck driving in South Africa has become more dangerous recently. A Time Link Cargo driver was killed after a boulder was thrown through his windshield on N1 De Doorns. pic.twitter.com/9VN7hxP1Ix

— SA Trucker (@rsa_trucker) May 13, 2019

According to Fleetwatch, looters also stole the entire load.

Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa confirmed the incident to Netwerk24, saying: “Someone apparently threw an object through the windscreen of the truck after which the driver lost control and veered off the road. He (the driver) was killed. His assistant was injured.”

Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, told Netwerk24 that residents of a nearby informal settlement looted the wreck of the truck.

“These incidents happen frequently and it is concerning that this type of lawlessness is allowed. It is shocking what these people do to one another,” he reportedly said.

On Twitter, video footage of the incident emerged.

Video of the De Doorns incident where a boulder hit the driver causing him to crash. He was later trampled to death by his attackers. pic.twitter.com/a11kWM1VhD

— SA Trucker (@rsa_trucker) May 13, 2019

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President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hometown of Soweto, Johannesburg, might have given the ANC its support, but has sent a warning to the party by rewarding the EFF. The ANC lost almost 6 percentage points between 2014 and 2019, with support declining from 76,2 and 70,3. Julius Malema’s EFF however jumped from 11,2% to 17,6%.

Counting in Gauteng is not yet done, as of 12:42pm, with the future of the province still in the balance. The latest numbers from the IEC put the ANC at below 50% support. News24’s election analyst Dawie Scholtz has projected that the governing party will hold on to Gauteng with a reduced majority of 50,35%. 

Of the outstanding votes, the greatest number include the province’s largest townships in Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, where the ANC still dominates. According to News24’s analysis the ANC is largely holding steady around in and Johannesburg, with some losses similar to Soweto, and Ekurhuleni. In Tshwane the DA performed better than in other townships, with minor growth in Hammanskraal, Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa.

The EFF seems to be growing across the board, with doubling of support in Orange Farm (from 7,2% in 2014 to 14,7% in 2019), Soweto (11,2% to 17,6%), as well as big growth in Hammanskraal, Soshanguve and Ga-Rankuwa. – Pieter  du Toit 

Markets are not expected to react too negatively if the election results are delayed by a sample vote audit. But the markets are not expected to respond well to indications that the election result as a whole is in question, an analyst says.

This follows an announcement by the IEC on Thursday that it will do an audit of a small sample of votes following allegations of double voting in some areas, and that this could lead to a delay in the release of the election results. Stanlib chief economist Kevin Ling told News24 on Thursday that the market’s reaction to the news was likely to be fairly muted, but this all depended on the nature of the delay is.

“If the delay is seen as a technical issue, I don’t expect the markets to react all that much because they’ve already got sight of what the final result looks like,” he said. Ling added that, as long as the delay is not expected to change the outcome materially, the market won’t be too concern.

But if the delay brings into question the actual results, or if a rerun of the election starts to look likely the markets would generally react negatively, he said. As long as there is a proper explanation from the IEC over the delay of the results and an assurance that the entire election is not being called into question, the market should be calm, he said. – Sarah Evans