Aids funds for gospel concerts
2003-08-31 21:41
Nelspruit - Greedy Mpumalanga officials appear to have squandered millions of rands in a series of scams designed to enrich relatives and close associates.
Three secret forensic audit reports, handed to Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu in February, detail how health MEC Sibongile Manana and her most senior officials brazenly ignored tender and other financial controls.
In the most bizarre instances, Manana subverted over R6m from Mpumalanga's HIV/Aids budget to pay for gospel concerts, soccer matches, a dodgy theatre roadshow, and even more questionable "cultural village".
The money she usurped was, auditors report, meant to be spent on home-based care programmes for impoverished rural villagers living with HIV/Aids.
Manana was so care-free with funds, that she repeatedly repaid "scripting" and other one-off charges for the same play to be performed in the province.
She also spent R1m from the Aids budget on a traditional Swazi cultural village, where children are supposed to be taught "traditional values".
More sinister, however, are indications that career technocrats in the department took advantage of Manana's apparent weakness to milk tenders.
Two separate audit reports, by KPMG and VWD, detail how department head Rina Charles allegedly rigged tenders to benefit her brother-in-law Percy Siboza.
KPMG's 150-page report claims that Charles deliberately inflated a medical equipment tender by R13.7m by "padding" it with unnecessary orders.
Siboza then allegedly guaranteed portions of the tender to suppliers, in return for hefty "commissions" or even larger "profit dividends" as a joint venture "empowerment" partner.
One of the companies, Royal Food Services (RFS), confirmed paying a 35% dividend on its R2.3m catering contract at Philadelphia Hospital.
Auditors claim Charles changed the tender recommendations to favour RFS, which was chaired by Cyril Ramaphosa at the time, ahead of two cheaper competitors.
RFS managing director Joe Boyle told M-Net's Carte Blanche that payment was structured as dividends to an empowerment joint venture company, Mbombela Promotions cc, but confirmed the money was actually paid directly into Siboza's KaMagobeni Holdings bank account.
Medical equipment company Tecmed meanwhile also confirms paying Siboza commissions of between two and five percent for helping secure lucrative contracts.
Tecmed denies, however, using Siboza to win a R12.7m supply contract currently under investigation and insists its commission payments were for earlier work he helped secure through another joint venture company, TAU Medical.
'Bribes'
The only company that appears to have refused to pay what it termed "bribes", Medhold, promptly had all its approved contracts cancelled.
Medhold directors, who are prepared to testify in court, claim Siboza contacted them on their unlisted mobile numbers immediately after they'd made a presentation to Charles for a R7m tender.
Siboza allegedly openly informed them he was related to Charles, and claimed to have influence over the award of tenders. When asked for proof,
Siboza introduced Medhold's management to a "close business associate", consultant Tiny Jordaan, who had been asked to help draw up Mpumalanga's equipment orders.
Siboza then assured the company they would receive the R7m tender if they paid him a commission. When Medhold expressed concern at the conflict of interests, their orders were cancelled as part of a "budget review".
Siboza did not deny the deals or meetings on Saturday, but refused to speak about them.
Siboza and others implicated in the scams will, however, soon be grilled by Scorpions investigators.
A Scorpions team will begin interviewing health department financial head Richard Mnisi, and the cultural village owner on Monday.