The Free State Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team has seized essential documents from a major South African engineering construction company listed on the JSE. This is for a full-scale investigation amid allegations of corruption and fraud. These allegations involve a Free State government road infrastructure project.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, says their investigators and the Sasolburg Public Order Police (POP), seized the documents. These were at the company’s site which is between Sasolburg and Heilbron.
The search and seizure was conducted on Wednesday, 21 May. This action arose from whistleblower allegations of corruption and fraud by the company awarded the multi-million rand project.
Matoti says allegations arose during the bidding and appointment of a subcontractor rendering security services. Last year, the Free State Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport awarded a tender, worth R309 million, to the construction company. This was for major upgrade of the R57 road between Heilbron and Sasolburg.
Whistleblower’s allegations
Matoti said the tender was eventually awarded to the construction group which was to appoint local subcontractors. She says the conditions were these subcontractors needed to have a 30% stake in the project. “It is alleged that the company which received the tender to render security services was not local. It did not originate from Heilbron or Sasolburg. One of the directors of the involved subcontractor allegedly became a director of after the security company was appointed. The subcontractor’s address allegedly changed to the newly appointed director’s address. It is also alleged that the security company is not compliant with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA),” says Matoti.
Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae handed over the project to the giant construction group during March last year. She was the MEC for Community Safety, Roads, and Transport at the time.
The department reported then that R30 million of the allocated budget was for different emerging subcontractors. These subcontractors meet the Construction Industry Development Board (CIBD) levels. Initially, the project was planned for 30 months and was anticipated for completion by the end of this year. The project reportedly created intensive labour opportunities for 1134 residents from the Sasolburg and Heilbron.
