Special Investigating Unit to probe streetlight tender in Nelson Mandela Bay

It started with dark streets. Then there were rumours and complaints, followed by an internal audit report. A member of the Defenders of the People opened a criminal case and now there’s a fully-fledged investigation into the procurement and supply of streetlight fixtures in Nelson Mandela Bay.

While an internal report claims that the municipality’s electricity department incurred R24-million in irregular expenditure, a recent audit by the Democratic Alliance found there could be as many as 10,000 streetlights out in the metro — although the department does not appear to have official figures.

Now President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed Proclamation 170 of 2024 authorising the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of serious maladministration against the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM) and to recover any financial losses suffered by the state or the metro with a specific focus on the supply, delivery and offloading of streetlighting and floodlighting luminaires and payments made for this.

“The SIU will also investigate any unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by [the metro] or the state. The scope of the investigation also covers any unlawful or improper conduct by officials or employees of NMBMM, the applicable suppliers or service providers or any other person or entity,” reads a statement from the SIU.

The proclamation allows for an investigation of transactions and payments made between 1 November 2020 and 12 July 2024.

“In addition to investigating maladministration, malpractice, corruption and fraud, the SIU will identify system failures and make systematic recommendations to improve measures to prevent future losses,” the statement continued.

The SIU said it could refer investigations to the National Prosecuting Authority.

Call for suspensions

An internal audit report by the metro uncovered irregular expenditure totalling R24-million in contracts for streetlights.

In April, a former councillor for the Defenders of the People, Tukela Zamani, opened a criminal case against the head of the metro’s electricity department, Luvuyo Magalela, based on the metro’s report.

Magalela, who was the acting city manager at the time, said there was nothing in the report to implicate him.

At the time, Zamani said: “The allegations of fraud, corruption and maladministration within the electricity and energy directorate, and the subsequent promotion of Mr Magalela to acting city manager despite these allegations, raise serious concerns about the integrity and competence of the city’s leadership.”

On Thursday, he again called for Magalela to be suspended.

Executive Mayor Gary van Niekerk said on Thursday that the SIU had not presented him with any evidence that he could use to suspend officials.

“They were in my office but they just came to introduce themselves,” he said.

After the SIU officials visited him in his office, Van Niekerk wrote on Facebook: “We had a very insightful meeting with the SIU this morning regarding their investigation into an electricity and energy directorate tender, as instructed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, recently. I assured them of our full cooperation and support to ensure that we get to the bottom of the matter.”

The metro has not yet answered questions on whether Magalela or any other officials will be placed on precautionary suspension pending the outcome of the investigation.

However, Zamani said the grounds for precautionary suspension were clearly outlined: when an employer – such as the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality – suspects an employee has breached the Public Finance Management Act, Municipal Finance Management Act, the disciplinary code for municipal employees, or their terms and conditions of employment, immediate action should be taken.

“Magalela, as head of the implicated department, naturally stands under the shadow of these allegations and therefore qualifies for precautionary suspension on all imaginable fronts. The presidential proclamation itself echoes this viewpoint, further bolstering the urgency of suspending Magalela pending the SIU’s investigation. Such a measure would preserve the integrity of the inquiry and mitigate the risk of undue interference,” said Zamani.

The DA said earlier this month that the city’s electricity department was running at a loss of R1.4-billion.

DA caucus leader Morne Steyn said the parlous financial state of the department could destroy the financial sustainability of the metro. DM

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