- A former municipal manager of the Moretele municipality in the North West was arrested in connection with an unlawful tender worth R215 million.
- Theletsi Roger Nkhumise is accused of unlawfully appointing Flame IT Strategy to render ICT services to the Moretele municipality.
- The Special Investigating Unit has welcomed the arrest.
The Special Investigating Unit has welcomed the arrest of a former municipal manager from the Moretele municipality in the North West, who allegedly unlawfully awarded an ICT tender worth R215 million.
Theletsi Roger Nkhumise was arrested on Friday and appeared in the Moretele Regional Court.
Nkhumise was accused of unlawfully appointing Flame IT Strategy to render ICT services to the Moretele Municipality, a largely rural area.
In a statement, the SIU said Nkhumise's arrest was a result of an investigation which revealed that the municipality increased the scope of work with two addendums to the original contract, without following processes governing municipal procurement of goods and services.
Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the investigation had also revealed that the price from that of the original contract between Madibeng Municipality and Flame IT were "definitely not in sync with the pricing between Moretele Municipality and Flame IT".
Kganyago said Madibeng had paid Flame IT approximately R64 million for a similar service.
He added that the unit's investigation had revealed that Moretele was paying way more than what Madibeng Municipality paid Flame IT for a similar service.
The SIU had referred evidence of criminal activity to the National Prosecuting Authority for further action, Kganyago said.
It had also instituted a civil action in the Special Tribunal to review and set aside the contract.
"This will pave the way for the State's only anti-corruption, forensic investigation and civil litigation agency to recover financial losses suffered by the municipality due to negligence and corruption," Kganyago said.