PHUTI MOSOMANE
FORMER Northern Cape Public Works MEC and ANC Chairperson, John Block, has been arrested at the Upington Correctional Centre by the Hawks.
The arrest was made on Tuesday morning in connection with a R51 million tender fraud case related to the construction of a hospital back in 2003.
Block, who previously served as the MEC of transport, roads, and public works, is currently serving a 15-year jail term for fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
His conviction dates back to 2015, but he only began his sentence in 2018 at the Upington prison after several unsuccessful appeals in higher courts, including the Constitutional Court.
The corruption case stems from a joint effort between the provincial Roads and Public Works and Health departments to build a mental health facility in Kimberley in 2003.
A 55-year-old former MEC of Transport, Roads and Public Works, will make a brief appearance before Upington Magistrates’ court today, 30 May 2023 on a fraud allegation.
It is alleged that in 2003, Babereki Consulting Engineers CC was fraudulently awarded a tender as a structural civil engineer as well as project manager, within the mental health hospital construction project.
During his tenure as a political head the accused and the former HOD Patience Mercia Mokhali appointed Babereki Consulting Engineers CC whose director is Tshegolekae Motaung though the company did not meet the necessary requirements.
The Acting Provincial Head of the Hawks in the Northern Cape, Brigadier Prince Mashimbye welcomed the arrest: “criminality will be persuade irrespective of the duration in which it happened in order for justice to prevail”.
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