Hawks arrest Tzaneen businesswoman, housing official on fraud charges

The owner of a company who built a “Covid-19 shack settlement” in Talana outside Tzaneen, Limpopo, and a senior member of the Housing Development Agency (HDA) were arrested on fraud charges by the Hawks in Polokwane on Thursday.

It is understood that the owner, who cannot be named at this stage, was telephoned by the Hawks in the morning and told to present herself at their offices, but that she initially failed to comply.

Members of the Hawks then went to her house in an upmarket section of the Sterpark suburb, colloquially known as “Tenderpark”.

However, they were told she was not there, and then they were notified that she had presented herself at the Hawks offices.

They found her on the steps of the offices accompanied by her husband, and she was read her legal rights before being told to take off her wedding ring and watch, and then handcuffed.

Hawks members then arrested the HDA official, who was based at the offices of the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs which was the implementing agent of the Talana settlement.

Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke later told the media: “We have arrested the director of the company that was awarded the tender and the project manager from the HDA. We have also arrested a third person who is a juristic person [the company that was awarded the tender].”

He said they faced several charges of fraud and were expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Maluleke said the arrests followed demands to investigate following an “outcry”.

However, he was reluctant to speak about the correlation between the investigation by the Hawks and that of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the matter.

He also did not want to divulge details of an investigation into another “Covid-19 shack settlement” in Burgersfort, which was allegedly awarded to the same company to build.

At the peak of the pandemic, the national Department of Human Settlements and Water Affairs had directed that temporary shelters be built for vulnerable people living in inhumane conditions.

More than 40 tin shelters were built in Talana at a cost of R64 000 each and Premier Stan Mathabatha cut a ribbon at the then much-celebrated event.

The multimillion-rand project was later described by authorities to be sub-standard, causing a countrywide outcry and an investigation by the Hawks and the SIU.

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