Mhlathuze Water would not succumb to threats to force it to illegally award contracts to questionable business formations.
This was the stern warning from Mhlathuze Water board chairperson, Thabi Shange, after heavily armed men associated to notorious business forum Amadelangokubona, stormed their headquarters in Richards Bay, KZN last week and demanded lucrative contracts.
The grouping, which is notorious for hijacking lucrative government and municipal contracts, held staff hostage for four hours, demanding to see interim CEO Dr. Simo Lushaba.
At the heart of their demands was for the entity to do away with the appointment of a new security company and instead reinstate the R36-million tender to the previous security company, Makadebona.
The business forum, which uses mafia style tactics to scare off competitors, claimed the contract was unduly advertised and awarded to the new company. The tender is for safeguarding various water plants, which have been subject to sabotage over the years.
“We know that they exist and they are all over the country. But there’s one principle that we have; we do not want to give in to undue influence on how we do things,” Shange said.
“Whether they come here or not, and if the business forums have the interest of communities at heart, they would not want to disrupt any work meant to service communities and industry,” she lashed out.
The government-owned entity has been under siege from the notorious business formations who are also ambushing various plants scaring workers off. This has led to new water projects being delayed.
Shange said they were resolute that the service providers would be appointed on merit and not based on scare tactics.
The facility has over the years faced internal squabbles, which led to the sacking of former CEO, Mthokozisi Duze, and chief financial officer Babongile Mnyandu, over allegations they had willingly and knowingly siphoned money from the entity.
They are accused of working in cahoots with service providers to loot the water utility, leading to millions being lost.
Mnyandu, Duze and other employees, are currently facing a plethora of charges after they were implicated in a forensic audit ordered by the board to conduct a probe into the financial affairs of the water entity.
Zazi Chamane, Amadelangokubona representative, said: “We will not engage the board of Umhlathuze Water through the media. But we have noted their posture and what appears to be hostility towards our business forum.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
