Johannesburg – The former Nketoane Local Municipality mayor, Mandla Mamba, and his Chief Financial Officer Vincent Mkhefa were convicted after been found guilty on charges of tender fraud and money laundering.
Both officials were charged alongside the service provider, Caroline Nketu.
This comes after the municipality had lost more than R300 000 in tender rigging, where the former mayor and the CFO had colluded with Nketu to defraud the municipality.
The trio was arrested by the Hawks in 2019 and after numerous court appearances at the Bethlehem Serious Commercial Crime Court, the convicts were convicted for their crimes last Monday.
Speaking to Sunday World, the Hawks spokesperson in Free State, Captain Christopher Singo said that their conviction originates from an incident that took place during 2011, where a whistle-blower reported alleged tender fraud and corruption committed at the municipality.
“According to the information we received, the former mayor sourced a service provider (Nketu) who is not attached to these fraudulent activities and requested her to provide a quotation for playground equipment.
“The service provider submitted the quotation for R32 000 and later delivered the equipment. She was then paid by the municipality for the services that she rendered,” Singo told Sunday World.
Singo elaborated that during the same period, Nketu who was a service provider was also requested to provide quotations for the same tender contract.
“Two quotations was then submitted for R198 500 each. Mkhefa, who was the former CFO authorized two payments to Nketu for R165 600 and R198 500 on two different occasions. No services were rendered by Nketu to the municipality,” he added.
Singo also said that Nketu paid R1000 on two different occasions to Mamba.
“As a result of fraudulent activities, the municipality suffered a total loss of more than R364 000,” said Singo.
The court has remanded the case for sentencing to 7 December.
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