The Durban High Court earlier this week ruled in favour of Zandile Gumede, the former mayor of eThekwini Municipality, and her co-accused, ordering the State to reveal a report from the municipality claiming that the company that looked into the R320 million tender irregularities was unlawfully appointed.
Gumede and her 21 co-accused are facing numerous charges, including money laundering, racketeering, fraud, corruption, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the Municipal Systems Act, relating to the R320 million Durban Solid Waste (DSW) tender.
Integrity Forensic Solutions (IFS), a forensic company contracted by eThekwini’s City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), looked into irregularities in the tender.
This is after the CIIU received anonymous documents alleging irregularities in the solid waste tender. After IFS investigated, the Hawks took over the matter, leading to arrests.
The court in 2024 was told that there was an investigation by the city to probe the appointment of IFS. The city hired Masama Consulting to investigate.
As a result of that investigation, the CIIU’s top investigator was fired. He is considered a key witness in the corruption trial
Counsel for Gumede, advocate Jay Naidoo SC, made an application to the court asking for it to compel the State to make the Masama report available.
Naidoo said he wanted to open his cross-examination with the former CIIU boss to question him about the appointment of IFS.
In delivering her ruling, Judge Sharmaine Balton ordered the State to provide the applicant (Gumede) with the file opened and registered with the CIIU, pursuant to a ‘whistle-blower’ report dated May 9, 2023, about allegations of irregularities committed by the former boss of CIIU and top investigator, in the appointment of IFS, to conduct the forensic investigation in the matter.
Judge Balton said this included, among other things, a whistle-blower report dated May 9, 2023, the forensic investigation report, together with all annexures compiled by Masama Consulting (mostly referred to as the Masama report), and the CIIU recommendations on actions to be taken.
The judge ruled that a copy of the agenda, minutes of the meeting, and resolutions of the Executive Committee and the full council of eThekwini Municipality about the Masama report must be made available to the defence.
Additionally, she said a copy of the record of the disciplinary proceedings instituted against the CIIU’s top investigator by the municipality should be made available to the defence.
She said a charge sheet served on the CIIU investigator and the outcome of the disciplinary tribunal must be given to the defence.
“The respondent (State) is directed to provide the information to the applicant (Gumede) within 10 days of this order,” she said.
Additionally, the defence started its cross-examination of a State witness who worked for the tenders and contracts unit in eThekwini.
The witness said she was part of the Executive Acquisitions Committee (EAC), an advisory committee that was established by former city manager Sipho Nzuza.
She told the court that, given the urgency of getting contractors to collect waste in the city, Nzuza was well within his rights to require the former deputy head of Supply Chain Management, Sandile Ngcobo, to sign the letters of award on December 28, 2017.
The court learned that the contracts of service providers who were collecting waste around the city were going to expire on December 31, 2017.
The Solid Waste Unit requested permission from the Bid Adjudicating Committee (BAC) to hire qualified service providers to collect waste. This comes after it was unable to complete the bidding procedures in time due to the large number of bidders it received for the November tender.
On December 19, 2017, the BAC approved quotations for the companies. The witness did not, however, bring the BAC’s decisions to the December 21, 2017, EAC meeting.
She explained that it was because she had been off since December 20.
She also mentioned that the BAC had authorised the quotations, but with a need that compliance checks to be performed.
Following protocol, she had also stated that the EAC’s agenda had been set days in advance.
The trial continues
