A suspended Mpumalanga tourism chief is at the centre of a multimillion-rand scandal after forensic investigators exposed a R9.8-million payment for a phantom R380-million visitor information centre at the Makhonjwa Mountains World Heritage Site in Barberton.
The 103-page Nexia SAB&T forensic report, finalized in May and seen by Sunday World, paints a damning picture of manipulated tenders, unlawful approvals and wasted millions.
Yet, despite its recommendation that criminal charges be laid against senior officials, including suspended Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) CEO Mduduzi Vilakazi, the provincial Department of Economic Development and Tourism has kept the document under lock and key.
Vilakazi approved a R9.8-million payment to Vuxaka Consulting Engineers, irregularly appointed to oversee a construction project that investigators later confirmed had never been awarded or funded. Vuxaka’s payments came in two tranches: R6 817 067 on March 6, 2024, and R3 038 464 on July 10, 2024.
Even more brazen, Vilakazi unilaterally approved a R55-million contract beyond his delegated authority.
According to the report, projects worth more than R5-million and certainly those exceeding R50-million require board approval. But Vuxaka’s appointment was waved through by a seven-member bid adjudication committee and the CEO.
“The report from our independent specialist focused on the payments made to Vuxaka for the Concept and Viability Report (total amount paid R9 855 532) and had to determine if value for money was obtained… They concluded that value for money was not received,” the report stated.
“The payment made to Vuxaka was not cost-effective. We were unable to find evidence that a tender amounting to R380-million was awarded for the construction of the visitor information centre, as alleged.”
On January 21, investigators inspected the supposed site of the R380-million information centre and found untouched vegetation.
“The entire site consists of lush vegetation (shrubs and trees), which covers the entire site. The site cannot be accessed due to the lush vegetation,” the report noted.
The report shows how Vuxaka’s fees were grotesquely inflated. They charged 15% of the R367-million construction value, then folded their own consulting fees into the total and charged the MTPA more money for the same consulting fees.
MTPA executive commercial operations manager Phinda Qutywa admitted this in a board submission later in 2024.
“The total cost was estimated by Vuxaka at R55 117 951, which amounts to 15% of the total project cost of the proposed cost of R367 453 011 and is excessive when compared to the prescripts of the Engineering Profession Act,” the report
recorded.
“It appears from the concept and viability report… that the 15% was included in the professional fees of the report and again charged on the total estimate amount.”
The alleged manipulation went further. Investigators found that landowners had offered to donate a site for the visitors information centre, which would have nullified the need for the inflated tender altogether.
“It appears that the procurement process and the proposed cost for the consulting of the [visitors information centre] may have been manipulated and confirms the allegations made by the landowners,” the report stated.
Of the MTPA’s 32 pre-qualified panellists, only 11 were notified of the quotation request via email. The process was squeezed into just seven days, from October 18, 2023, to 11am on October 25, 2023, culminating in an unminuted compulsory briefing with only five bidders in attendance.
Only one response was received for the seven-day bid, and a letter of appointment was sent to Vuxaka on November 6, 2023.
“The RFQ (request for quote) was signed by Mr Mduduzi Robert Sambo, owner of Vuxaka, on 24 October 2023… Based on the Engineering Profession Act…the percentage claim of 15% by Vuxaka for the project cost is not in line with the act…” the report read.
Perhaps most damning is that the MTPA could never have afforded the project.
“MTPA received a total budget of R20-million in the 2023/24 financial year from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism for the Makhonjwa Biodiversity Management.
“The proposed expenditure … calculates to much more than the R20-million provided by the department, and it is not clear where the funding would have been obtained from,” the report warned.
Despite its explosive findings, the department has kept the report from the public since May, a cover-up.
When contacted for comment, Vilakazi did not respond, but the message sent to him appeared to have been read. Attempts to obtain a comment from Mduduzi Robert Sambo of Vuxaka Consulting Engineers were unsuccessful.
