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By IOL Reporter 
9h ago
Cape Town – Several real estate and vehicles belonging to the Chief Financial Officer of the KwaZulu-Natal Prime Minister’s Office, Ziphathie Cibane, his co-defendants and their entities, valued at 23 million rand, have been seized by the Confiscation Unit of Assets of the National Prosecutor’s Office. Authority (NPA).
The move follows an order issued by the KZN High Court against the defendants, the NPA said in a statement Tuesday.
In July, Cibane and three other staff from Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala’s office, Nomusa Zakwe, Thobelani Makhathini and Sithembiso Msomi, appeared in the Durban Commercial Crimes Court along with Gugu Kheswa from Phumalanga Communications. They were charged with bid fraud and corruption in connection with a rand 24 million catering tender.
Cibane, 55, was granted a bond of R10,000, Zakwe, 35, a personal assistant to the prime minister, a bond of R5,000, and Makhathini, 34, a clerk, a bond of R5,000.
Msomi, 53, a senior administration officer, also received a bond of 5,000 rand and Kheswa, 51, a director of Phumalanga Communications Close Corporation, a bond of 20,000 rand.
Officials are alleged to have colluded with service providers to secure catering tenders without regard to all supply chain procedures.
In October, they were joined by more defendants: Pamela Hlongwa, Ashley Rose, Ntombimpela Mabel Majozi and Sybil Mataung along with their entities: Roren Engineering, Nto’s Catering CC, I Dot Q, Set Apart Group, Isidleke Enterprises Pty Ltd and Inala Business Consortium.
The case of the State is that the staff of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, working in the supply chain management section, illegally colluded and cooperated with these service providers to manipulate the bidding process.
” Restricted properties today have an estimated accumulated value of R 23.3 million. These include 20 real estate assets, including a boutique hotel and 40 motor vehicles, ” the NPA said.
“The articles will be kept under guardianship pending the result of the criminal trial. The defendants are out on bail and return to court on April 30, 2021. ”
MESS
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