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The criminally charged city manager of eThekwini Municipality, Sipho Nzuza, admitted to the Mail and tutor on Tuesday he had been signing bids, but denied that this was a violation of his bail conditions.
Nzuza initially refused to answer the M&Gquestions. “I cannot comment, the matter is still in the hands of my lawyer,” he said.
When asked again if he had been signing tenders, copies of which are in the M&G ‘s possession – Nzuza replied, “Yes, yes.”
“I would not sign anything against my bail. Why should I do that? “He added.
When he was reminded that the conditions of his bail state that he should not participate in any bidding process, he replied: “That is why I say that I cannot comment to you, because, you know, that is what my lawyers are dealing with.”
The National Fiscal Authority (NPA) told the M&G that he was investigating the matter and that he would “act accordingly” if the conditions of Nzuza’s bail had been violated.
Nzuza was arrested in March this year for his alleged involvement in the R430 million Durban Solid Waste Bid (DSW) fraud case in eThekwini municipality involving former Mayor Zandile Gumede, Councilor Mondli Mthembu, senior officials and service providers.
Nzuza is currently out on bail of R50,000, as is Gumede. The other defendants are also free on bail of various amounts and will appear again in the court specialized in commercial crimes in December.
According to the conditions of his bail, Nzuza “must not be directly involved in or influence any bidding process for the duration of this investigation” (on DSW fraud and corruption for R430 million) and “his power as accounting in relation to the bidding processes must be delegated in terms of article 79 read with article 77, article 10 (2), and article 106 of Law 56 of 2003 on Municipal Financial Management ”.
Nzuza received a special license, which was later extended, shortly after his arrest. Apparently ignoring the public outcry over his alleged involvement in the DSW case, the city said that Nzuza’s suspension had to do with the potentially irregular award of a tender from a consulting firm dating back to 2017.
The city then appointed its deputy city manager for governance, Sipho Cele, as interim city manager, and made it clear to the public that he would handle the tenders.
Nzuza’s special leave ended on September 25, and while Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda tried to dissuade him from returning to work, even shutting him out of his office, he and the city, in turn, received threats of legal action from a defiant Nzuza. .
Last week the M&G reported that Nzuza told an executive council meeting that he believed the NPA had been “wrong” in deciding on the conditions of his bond.
When asked about Nzuza’s approval of the tenders, the city spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said: “As far as the city knows, he is free from the conditions of his bond and it is recorded that he says under no circumstances will you ignore them.
“If the media has a problem about him violating the conditions of his bail, our city manager believes in an open door policy and we don’t think he has any problem taking the media. [in]to your confidence in this regard ”.
Mayisela added that she was not aware of any tender that Nzuza had signed.
“Please note that the city has a well-oiled legal machinery that advises its political leadership on matters of this nature and at all times LEGAL does everything possible to ensure that the leadership is misled. [sic]. “
The issue of Nzuza signing documents came up again Tuesday at the municipal public accounts committee meeting, when the supply chain management unit presented its monthly public tenders for September.
The document provided a space for Cele, but it was crossed out and Nzuza had written her name in its place.
Nzuza did not participate in the meeting.
According to the document listing the September tender awards, the purpose of this report was to allow council committees to perform their oversight role.
Three of the four signatories to the document are CFO Krish Kumar, Director of Supply Chain Management Andre Petersen, and Deputy Director for Policy and Support Services Zandile Sithole.
The fourth signature belonged to Nzuza and was dated October 13, 2020.
Significantly, the document provided a space for Cele, with her name, typed below, but this had been crossed out and Nzuza had typed her name in its place.
Among the recommendations of the supply chain management report was that “the city manager reserves the right to investigate awards to take disciplinary, criminal and recovery action when an intentional and negligent violation of management policies is observed. of the supply chain and the provisions of the Municipal Financial Management Law “.
Prem Iyer of the Inkatha Freedom Party asked why Nzuza had signed the document.
“I am not hitting the bail conditions. It is your signature signed on awards that have financial implications. We need to raise the issue with the mayor about how this action impacts us. We need clarity, ”Iyer told the municipal public accounts committee.
The committee chairman said a “clear answer” would be available at the next meeting.
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