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Former senior government officials Sybil Ngcobo, Mmakgosi Mosupi, Valdis Romaano and Obakeng Mookeletsi appear before the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court for corruption.
PHOTO: Jeanette Chabalala / News24
- The Hawks were also going after two directors of private companies who allegedly benefited from the 1.2 billion rand tender.
- The case stems from a “long and protracted” case from 2007.
- The state said it would not object to the bond.
Four former senior government officials appeared in the Commercial Crimes Court of the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on corruption charges related to a 1.2 billion rand tender awarded during Brian Hlongwa’s tenure as MEC of Gauteng Health.
Former Department Head and Accountant for the Gauteng Health Department Sybil Ngcobo, Former Senior Director of Information and Communications Technology Mmakgosi Mosupi, Former Director of Supply Chain Management Valdis Romaano, and Former Deputy Director General and Director of the Obakeng Executive Support Program Mookeletsi, faced charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
In a statement, the Hawks said they had arrested the four former senior state officials on Thursday for alleged bidding irregularities committed at the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) in 2007.
“The long and extensive Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation case dates back to February 2007, in which the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) submitted a proposal to the GDoH to continue a technology maintenance program of the information in the department “.
The statement continued:
The total cost of such a project was assumed not to exceed R57 million over a three-year period. Instead, the contract was awarded to a private entity at a huge cost of around R1.2 billion without following proper bidding procedures.
The Hawks said the four top officials allegedly received bribes for their role in ensuring that the contract was awarded to “an entity that did not deserve it.”
The Hawks said:
Two directors of private companies who improperly benefited from the tender have yet to be charged, along with their two companies. These directors are reportedly out of the country, but steps have already been taken to ensure that they are told.
The state said it would not object to the bail requests of the four defendants currently in court, as no flight risks were considered.
In June 2018, City Press reported that between 2006 and 2009, Gauteng’s health department had recorded irregular expenditures worth 1.2 billion rand, according to a report by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) at the time.
The report was the result of investigations into the department’s conduct from January 2006 to May 2010, and revealed that Hlongwa, who was also the ANC Gauteng whip boss at the time, and 11 other senior officials and 10 private companies , had been complicit in corrupt and fraudulent deals, ranging from luxurious trips abroad, to paying for Hlongwa’s house in Bryanston of R7.2 million, while he held the post of MEC of health from 2006 to 2009, according to the publication.
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