Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha has faced severe grilling for asking the provincial legislature to continue pouring money into financially mismanaged state-owned entities (SOEs) that are bleeding the provincial government’s coffers dry. The Office of the Premier, under the leadership of Mathabatha, and the Provincial Treasury, led by MEC Seaparo Sekoati, have been invited to provide an account of the concerning information gathered during hearings involving different departments and State-Owned Enterprises (SEOs) in Limpopo. According to Scopa chairperson Donald Selamolela, there…

Gauteng’s R500 million medical waste tender lapsed two days before the provincial health department requested validity extensions from the bidders, the presiding officer said.  Judge Ahmed Cajee said his calculations showed that the tender’s 90-day validity period expired on November 17, 2022 – not November 17 – as claimed by all parties in their court documents.  Buhle Medical Waste, the incumbent service provider, has applied for an urgent interdict to stop the department from implementing the award of a disputed…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated South Africa’s tough stance against Israel over the Gaza war, calling upon the United Nations (UN) to send soldiers to the Middle East with the aim of ensuring a peaceful dialogue between the state of Tel Aviv and Hamas. Ramaphosa was speaking during the extraordinary joint meeting of BRICS leaders to discuss the situation in the Middle East on Tuesday, November 21. Leaders and delegates of the recently invited members of BRICS, such as Argentina,…

Four villages have rejected Roads Agency Limpopo’s (RAL) R8 million project awarded to corruption-accused company, Ndhuna Civils, saying they wanted the road to be tarred and not re-gravelled endlessly.  The communities of Ga-Mokgwathi, Daniel, Lekgwareng and Dzumeri in Mopani took a resolution to bar Ndhuna from the site in separate tribal meetings last month, according to the chairperson of the D3187 Mokgwathi-Dzumeri Road task team.  Wilfred Machethe told African Times that residents agreed that Ndhuna and RAL must not touch…

A top medical waste company has taken the Gauteng Department of Health to court over a procurement process it believes was flawed and unlawful.  Buhle Medical Waste has applied for an urgent interdict against the department, saying its decision to award a R526 million contract to Tshenolo Waste (Pty) Ltd and Phuting Medical Waste Management (PTY) Ltd a few weeks ago should be declared invalid and set aside.  Buhle approached the Johannesburg High Court seeking an interim interdict to stop…

Senior Gauteng Department of Health officials have been accused of fixing a R526 million medical waste tender to benefit their preferred bidders at approximately double the price.   Acting head of department Arnold Malotana, acting director for health care risk and medical waste Edgar Motha, and Sheriff Lecholo, assistant director for contract management in the supply chain unit, allegedly manipulated procurement processes to secure the contract for two companies in July last year.  The provincial health department awarded Tshenolo Waste (PTY)…

The Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) blames COVID-19 for a four-year delay in constructing an R1.6 billion mega health facility in the highveld. Opposition party ActionSA has accused the provincial government leaders of engaging in corrupt activities that resulted in the Middelburg Hospital not being completed in time and the budget overrunning by R200 million from the allocated R1.4 billion.  The department is currently under the political leadership of ANC provincial chairperson Mandla Ndlovu. However, the…

A Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF) report has made damning findings against a company closely linked to Deputy President Paul Mashatile, saying possible irregularities and no value for money marred a multimillion-rand state loan facility issued to it.  At the center of the saga is Nonkwelo Investments, owned by Mashatile’s son-in-law, Nceba Nonkwelo, accused of using his political connections to benefit to the tune of R30 million from the Entrepreneur Empowerment Property Fund Program (EEPFP).  Tabling the report on Monday, November…

The Auditor-General (AG) has lifted the lid on the North West Department of Public Works and Roads’ poor management of taxpayers’ money and flagged its flagrant disregard for the law, accountability and policies.  According to the AG’s 2022/2023 financial year report, the department incurred irregular, wasteful, and fruitless expenditure of R689 million, and underspent the budget by R204 million due to inadequate planning and project management. It failed to properly record unauthorized expenditures, accruals and payables, and immovable tangible capital…

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has made a U-turn on its initial stance that its full report on the theft of $580,000 at the Phala Phala Wildlife Farm in Limpopo was too confidential for public release. This came as two suspects – Namibians Imanuwela David (39) and Froliana Joseph (30) – appeared in Bela-Bela Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday concerning the controversial robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in February 2020.  They have been charged with conspiracy to commit housebreaking with…