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The DA in the City of Matlosana opened a case with the Hawks to investigate the irregular appointment of Molahlwa Investments Holdings for the rental of 10 refuse removal trucks for a 3-month term under Regulation 36 of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations. DPCI Enquiry Number: 1/08/2023.

The total value of this contract could come to above R3,5 million. The cost per monthly rental per truck is R100,000.00 in addition to an operating hourly rate of R789.00 excluding overtime charges.

Regulation 36 may only be used to justify the awarding of a contract for emergency purposes. The Molahlwa contract does not meet the requirements of an emergency.

The City of Matlosana at one point owned 32 refuse removal trucks. The municipality recently procured five new trucks, but only about seven or eight of the municipality’s refuse removal trucks are operational. Instead of bringing these refuse trucks into operation, the municipality would rather outsource this service at a time when the city is facing financial collapse.

Our investigations into the contract showed that the previous contract for the rental of refuse removal trucks awarded to Dikopane has been suspended and is currently under dispute.

Even more concerning, is that Thabiso Phakade, the owner of Molahlwa Investment Company, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Dikopane and that the 10 trucks under this emergency contract belong to Dikopane.

The previous owner of Dikopane, Cheryl Lala, served as a director for Molahlwa Investments Holdings until 24 June 2021.

The Dikopane contract under dispute is valued at between R36 to R48 million.

This appears to be a deliberate attempt by the ANC-governed City of Matlosana to defraud the municipality through abuse of an emergency procurement regulation to ensure that the taxpayer money reach the same people.

The DA raised its objections to this contract in Council, but the ANC pushed it through, and Municipal Manager (MM) Lesego Seametso proceeded to award the contract to Molahlwa Investments Holdings.

MM Seametso justified the emergency contract by claiming that a competitive bidding process will be facilitated since this contract will expire in September 2023. However, no such process is underway and we can expect that this contract will be extended under Regulation 36, repeatedly.

We have also reported this irregular contract for an investigation to the Auditor-General.

The DA will continue to expose and act against the corrupt practices of the ANC-governed City of Matlosana on behalf of all residents. We are committed to saving this city from total collapse. We trust that the Hawks will investigate this matter with the urgency it deserves.

Issued by Cllr Johannes Le Grange - DA Caucus Leader: City of Matlosana