The former eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede.
Image: Picture: Tumi Pakkies/African News Agency (ANA)
A state witness on Friday at the fraud trial of R300 million relating to Durban Solid Waste (DSW) admitted to signing an extension for contractors who were collecting waste in eThekwini in 2017 without vetting compliance checks.
Twenty-two people, including former mayor of eThekwini Zandile Gumede, and former City manager Sipho Nzuza are on trial for corruption, fraud, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act concerning a R300 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) contract.
This came up during cross-examination by defence counsel advocate Jimmy Howse SC. Howse is representing the fifth accused in this matter, Sandile Ngcobo, who at the time was the deputy head of supply chain management in the City and the chairperson of a Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC).
The witness said that on December 19, 2017, an official from the DSW unit came to him in the morning with a request to endorse the extension of contracts for service providers, ILanga la Mahlase PTY (LTD), Uzuzinekele Trading 31 cc, Omphile Thabang Projects, and El Shaddai Holdings Group cc to continue and collect waste in Durban.
Fifth accused Sandile Ngcobo.
Image: Picture: Leon Lestrade
“She said this was urgent and the BAC was waiting for the report. She said waste had not been collected as the contracts of service providers expired in November 2017,” the witness explained.
He said he agreed to sign and added that he was going to put a condition to state that compliance checks had not been done.
He agreed with Howse, that when he led his evidence in chief, he said he did not see the documents he would need for compliance checks because the DSW official had split the report to get signatures in various places as this was an emergency.
“Knowing she had those documents, did you tell her to bring them if the BAC approved?” asked Howse.
The witness confirmed this but explained that to this day he never saw those documents. He said when an investigator from Integrity Forensic Solutions (IFS) asked him for a statement regarding this, he said that he never saw supporting documents for compliance checks to be done.
IFS was appointed by the Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) to investigate this matter before it was handed to the Hawks. CIIU is an investigation unit within the municipality.
During the BAC meeting, the DSW official gave the impression that all necessary documents were there. According to the transcript of that meeting, the BAC which was chaired by Ngcobo noted the condition of the witness and said everything must go accordingly.
“BAC has done its job,” said Howse.
The witness said once items have been at the BAC he does not get involved. He further said there were higher structures that checked if the BAC had followed all the right procedures.
Howse established from the witness that after he made his affidavit during investigations carried out by IFS, an investigator from IFS sent him the minutes of the 19 December meeting of the BAC after he made his affidavit.
Judge Sharmaine Balton asked if the witness made another statement, or added anything to the one he wrote. The witness said no.
The trial continues.
nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za
