By Nkhensani Chauke
The Special Investigating Unit, assisted by the Hawks, raided offices of the Makana Local Municipality to investigate alleged tender maladministration and irregularities, confiscating the phones of officials, laptops, hard drives and specific tender-related documents.
This comes a day after the Grahamstown Magistrate Court granted the SIU a warrant to search the premises of the municipality and gather evidence that would aid in the ongoing investigations.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told the media on Friday that upon the receipt of the allegations, the SIU engaged the municipality seeking information that would help assess the merit of the allegations and help prepare a motivation for a proclamation.
“However, the municipality did not cooperate with the SIU’s request. The SIU engaged the Auditor General of South Africa’s (AGSA), as the office was auditing the municipality at the time. The AGSA indicated that the municipality failed to furnish it with documents,” said Kganyago.
Kganyago said the SIU had solid reasons to believe that the normal route of requesting information and documents would have not provided positive results, hence it approached the Grahamstown Magistrate Court for a search warrant and seize documents and devices to aid in the ongoing investigations.
“The SIU and Hawks collected documentation and equipment required for audit or compliance purposes concerning successful tenders from 1 January 2019 to 18 October 2024, as stipulated in Proclamation 207 of 2024,” said Kganyago.
“This includes comprehensive records such as company registration documents, all forms of payment documents (invoices, purchase orders, remittance advice), and devices such as laptops, mobile devices, external storage, or media used by relevant committees, officials, or employees.”
“The documentation also extends to any electronic data stored these devices, including emails and cloud storage, covering current and outdated devices associated with specific personnel and posts.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a proclamation in August empowering the SIU to investigate allegations of serious maladministration within the municipality involving seven tenders.
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