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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala
PHOTO: Supplied by the KZN government
- An official from the KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala office has been arrested for alleged bid fraud.
- The matter is related to a 24 million rand catering tender in which five other officials have already been arrested.
- The Hawks also captured three service providers on Friday.
Another official in the KwaZulu-Natal Prime Minister’s office, Sihle Zikalala, was arrested for alleged fraud related to a 24 million rand catering tender.
The Hawks arrested the woman, Nonhlanhla Supply Chain Manager Pamela Hlongwa, on Friday, and spokesperson Capt.Simphiwe Mhlongo said she appeared in Durban Commercial Crimes Court on the same day, along with three suppliers of services: Ashley Mervyn Rose, Ntombipela Majozi and Sybil Nompumelelo. Motaung.
Mhlongo said that Hlongwa was granted a bond of 5,000 rand, while two service providers were granted a bond of 10,000 rand each, and the third of 20,000 rand.
“The bond was determined by the courts, which analyzed the circumstances of the defendants,” he said.
The arrests came after five other people involved in providing catering services to Zikalala’s office appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court in July.
READ ALSO | R24m Catering Tender Case – CFO and KZN Premier Zikalala Office Officials Released on Bail
News24 previously reported that CFO Ziphathe Mboneni Cibane, 55, received a bond of R10,000, the Prime Minister’s personal assistant, Nomusa Zakwe, 35, received a bond of R5,000, and Njabulo Makhathini, 34, an administrative employee, received a bail of R 5,000.
Sithembiso Msomi, 53, a senior administration official, also received a bond of 5,000 rand and Gugu Kheswa, 51, a director of Phumalanga Communications Close Corporation, obtained a bond of 20,000 rand.
Officials are alleged to have colluded with service providers to secure catering tenders without taking into account all supply chain procedures.
In an earlier statement issued by spokesman Lennox Mabaso, Zikalala’s office said it “respects the rule of law and will allow the law to take its course.”
“We wish to state that the Prime Minister’s Office has already placed some of these officials on provisional suspension pending the completion of internal disciplinary processes,” Mabaso said.
READ | 5 KZN Transportation Department Officials Charged With Fraud And Corruption Received Bail
He said the matter was now in the hands of the criminal justice system.
“We have a duty to allow the process to unfold. However, we wish to reiterate our position that, as a government, we are committed to good and clean governance. We are fully committed to running a government free from corruption and therefore Therefore, we will deal with all types of fraud and corruption as long as they raise their ugly heads. “
He said this included implementing consequence management and working closely with law enforcement agencies.
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