Cape Town – Three former Western Cape municipal officials have been ordered to jointly pay back R400 027.50 by Judge Johannes Daffue of the Special Tribunal for colluding with Duneco CC, a company operated by Nicolaas Jacobus Klazen, to award a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) tender.
The order follows a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation in the Matzikama Local Municipality.
The probe revealed that Aldrich Hendricks, Isak Edward Jenner, and Jafta Booysen – who were at the time municipal officials – colluded with Klazen to award a PPE tender to Duneco CC to supply gloves and masks without following supply chain management processes governing public procurement.
SIU investigations further revealed:
- The Acting Municipal Manager of the Municipality during March 2020 was Lionel Phillips, who upon the announcement of the hard lock-down, established a Covid-19 team, to arrange for the purchase of PPE.
- A municipal official was instructed to obtain quotes for PPE. The official sent out written requests for quotations to certain suppliers, with responses to be received before the closing date of 1 April 2020 at 12h00.
- Four suppliers responded.
- On 1 April 2020 Hendricks replaced Phillips as Acting Municipal Manager and on that same day, he was provided with the quotations obtained.
- On 2 April 2020 Hendricks disbanded the Covid-19 team and appointed Jenner as the Covid-19 coordinating officer.
- On 2 April, Klazen of Duneco and Hendricks had a telephone conversation about the supply of PPE to the Municipality
- Klazen deposited money in the bank account of Hendricks’ wife before the tender was awarded, and Klazen failed to disclose his relationship with Hendricks. On 23 June 2023, the Special Tribunal agreed with the findings of the SIU investigation and declared that a decision taken by Hendricks, as the acting municipal manager in April 2020 is declared irregular and invalid.
“The Tribunal ordered that Hendricks, Jenner, and Booysen must jointly pay the amount of R400 027.50 to the Municipality, together with interest calculated from 22 April 2020,” said SIU Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago on Thursday.
Booysen is the former Chief Financial Officer.
The municipal officials resigned after the SIU investigation commenced.
Booysen and Hendricks are now employed as municipal managers at the Laingsburg Local Municipality and Prince Albert Local Municipality in the Western Cape respectively.
Jenner is a former MEC of Cultural Affairs, Sport, and Recreation.
“The Tribunal ordered that Duneco and the three municipal officials should jointly pay the costs of the review application brought by the SIU and the Municipality,” said SIU Kganyago.
In May 2022, the Hawks arrested the three municipal officials and Klazen.
They were charged with fraud for allegedly colluding with a service provider, Duneco operated by Klazen, to award a PPE tender without following supply chain management processes in April 2020.
They were released on R5 000 bail each.
The matter will be enrolled at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, Bellville in July 2023.
