Tania Broughton
tania.broughton@inl.co.za
A SENIOR official in supply chain management in the provincial Health Department was arrested yesterday and stripped of his known assets, amid allegations that he committed fraud and corruption by awarding contracts worth R18 million to companies he was linked to.
Among the allegations is that he used people – including his domestic worker – as fronts to not only conceal his involvement in four close corporations, but also to boost their black economic empowerment rating, giving them extra marks in the bid evaluations.
Sibusiso Nduli was to appear in Durban’s Commercial Crimes Court today.
At the same time that Nduli was arrested, the Asset Forfeiture Unit pounced – serving him with an order placing four vehicles and his Emily Road home in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, under restraint.
The forfeiture application, approved by Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Shyam Gyanda, also contained the proposed charge sheet which detailed 166 counts of fraud (alternatively theft) and one count of corruption.
In his affidavit in the application, KZN asset forfeiture head Knorx Molelle said the police investigation by Lieutenant-Colonel Petrus de Villiers into Nduli dated back to 2009 and was supported by a forensic audit done by Ernst and Young.
He said Nduli was employed as the manager of the Health Department’s supply chain management and chaired the quotation evaluation committee which evaluated bids for goods and services.
Before 2008, this committee would have recommended the winning bidder to the quotation award committee for approval.
Then a new system was established, providing for the award of tenders on points based on various factors, including registration of the supplier with the KZN Treasury, tax clearance, participation of women, youth and disabled people, and participation of priority population groups in the entity.
Under this system, Nduli did the scoring, making recommendations to the general manager.
Molelle said among the quotations that Nduli evaluated under both systems were four to which, it is alleged, he had direct links.
Signatory
Molelle named these as Amaphikwana Unitrade CC, Phikwana Medi-Trade CC, Amagabhazi Contractors CC and Lethimpucuko Trading CC.
He alleged:
l Nduli was at one stage the sole member of Amaphikwana, but resigned and was replaced by Duduzile Ntuli, his domestic worker, who denied any knowledge of the close corporation or of the seven contracts awarded to it by the department.
She said that she had not received any of the R2.7 million paid to the close corporation by the department. Investigations showed that Nduli was the signatory of the bank account.
l Nduli was the sole member of Phikwana, but resigned in June 2008 when a Lakhile Bhengu was appointed as sole member.
Over six months, the close corporation received 16 contracts valued at R2.8m from the department, money which was paid into a bank account belonging to Nduli. A handwriting expert said the quotations had been in Nduli’s handwriting.
l Nduli was also the founding member of Amagabhazi, but resigned, with the new members being others with the Nduli surname, some of whom claimed no knowledge of the close corporation at all and others acknowledging that they were members, but insisting they were unaware of any business with the department.
Amagabhazi received 62 contracts worth almost R4m over three years and the money was paid into two bank accounts, one of which was in Nduli’s name and the other over which he had signing powers. Again, the handwriting expert concluded that some of the invoices had been penned by Nduli.
l Nduli’s wife, Valukufa Jane, was the sole member of Lethimpucuko, which received 81 contracts, valued at almost R9m, from the department.
Molelle said it was alleged that Nduli misrepresented to the department that the entities were entitled to be awarded 15 preference points on historically disadvantaged equity ownership criteria – youth and women – when that was not true. He had also not disclosed his own financial interest in the entities, as he was legally obliged to do, and had gone further by recommending that they receive contracts.
The total benefit, Molelle said, was R18.4m and the State was entitled to find assets to that value to place under restraint and ultimately forfeit.
