High-ranking officials have accused former sport and recreation head of department Sibusiso Ntombela of tender manipulation
Whistle-blowers in the Mpumalanga department of culture, sport and recreation have come forward with damning allegations against their former head of department, Sibusiso Ntombela.
At least three high-ranking officials alleged that Ntombela instructed the bid evaluation committee to appoint companies closely linked to him in relation to an event management tender valued at R50 million per company over a five-year period.
The three appointed companies allegedly did not qualify for the tender.
Alleged forgery
Among other essential resources, tender number CSRR/004/24 specified that successful bidders had to demonstrate experience, sound equipment and materials, ownership of a stage and financial strength.
According to insiders, one of the appointed companies forged a bank letter to portray itself as having the required financial standing.
A source said Ntombela was in hospital when the bid evaluation committee recommended other companies.
“He arranged for his urgent discharge so he could come back to work and deal with this tender.
“Then he ordered the removal of the three companies recommended for appointment and replaced them with those of his close associates,” said a second source.
“These companies did not meet the criteria specified in the tender. An example is that none of them have a stage. There is a lot to show they did not qualify at all.”
‘Quality checks were done’
All three officials claimed no site visits were conducted to verify the capacity of the appointed companies, despite this being a requirement.
“Despite having no experience in events management, these companies were appointed at the expense of more qualified service providers,” the source said.
Department spokesperson Sibongile Nkosi said: “Quality checks were done by both internal and external auditors.”
On 15 July, premier Mandla Ndlovu terminated Ntombela’s employment over unrelated allegations, which include fraud.
Ntombela declined to comment.
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