Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Four people are expected to believe their day in court in May next year in a case related to tender fraud amounting to some R400 million.
The tender was awarded to airline SA Express by the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) in 2014 and was subject to scrutiny at the State Capture Commission, which subsequently recommended a criminal probe into the matter.
In the dock in May 2024 will be former head of the provincial Department of Transport, Thabang Mohlokoleng; Tebogo Van Wyk, Nothando Dube and Sipho Phiri, together with companies, Batsamai Investment Holdings, Sevilex Investment Holdings and Lavao Estevao (PTY) Ltd.
The four face 34 charges including fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, with charges of racketeering also expected to be added to the docket.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame, the charges stem from the provincial government’s 2014 bid to reintroduce commercial airlines to airports in Mmabatho and Pilanesberg on a subsidy of some R400 million.
“An amount of R183 million was then paid to SA Express between 2015 and 2017, for the services rendered by the ground management companies, which Van Wyk, Dube and Phiri are linked to. The State alleges that of the amount… R51 million was channelled irregularly through the charged companies,” he said.
Mathomane said the tender awarded to the airline was done without “following the proper supply chain management processes”.
“The irregularly secured agreement is said to maintain been signed by the fourth accused. Mohlokoleng signed on behalf of the Department of Transport as the then Accounting Officer, in his capacity as the head of the department. The deal was allegedly riddled with procurement irregularities and monies were paid for services not rendered.
“The irregularities prejudiced the North West government of millions of Rands that could maintain been directed to service delivery,” Mamothame said.
Pre-trial conferencing is expected to commence in January 2024. – SAnews.gov.za
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Metal Aphrodite
Van is getting married, but he and his fiancee have never done the deed – in fact he\’s never been with any woman before. He\’s getting more and more nervous as the big day approaches, so he confides in his friend. His friend says \’No worries man. I\’ll come by the honeymoon suite before you guys get there, and I\’ll hide behind the curtain, and I\’ll whisper instructions to you.\’
\’You\’d do that for me?\’
\’Sure thing man!\’
So the wedding day arrives, it was a lovely service (so I was told, I wasn\’t there myself) and Van\’s friend sneaks into the honeymoon suite as promised and hides behind the curtain.
Van and his new wife arrive in the room, get settled on the bed, and things are getting steamy.
But Van is still super nervous and his tummy is bubbling, so he murmers to his wife, \’Listen babe, I\’m just gonna go to the bathroom quick. I think it\’s that wors roll from earlier.\’
\’Sure thing babe.\’
So Van goes into the bathroom, and he\’s taking quite a long time. And his wife is starting to feel the nerves herself. And it\’s getting worse. She can\’t hold it in. But she doesn\’t want to go after he\’s gone and totally ruin the mood. So she looks around and finally finds a shoebox. Quickly, she does her business in the shoebox, and she shoves it under the bed just as Van comes back from the loo.
Van gets back on the bed and they go at it again. But after a minute or so Van smells something not so lekker.
\’What\’s that smell?\’
\’Nothing babe,\’ he wife tries to assure him.
\’No man there\’s definitely something not so lekker in this room!\’VSo Van starts looking around the room, in the corners, in the cupboard, and finally he looks under the bed, and sees the shoebox.
He pull it out, and opens it up, and in horror he shouts \’Sies! Daar\’s kak in hierdie doos!\’
And from behind the curtain his friend yells, \’NEE MAN, DRAAI HAAR OM!\”