The ANC regional fundraiser in Nokuhamba Nyawo region (Umkhanyakude), Thobelani Ncamphalala, says the extortion allegations against him are a political plot by ANC members who lost in the 2021 regional conference.

Ncamphalala, the former mayor of Inkosi Umtubatuba Local Municipality and former ANC regional secretary, was named alongside a senior official of Umkhanyakude District Municipality, in the north-east of KwaZulu-Natal, in a recent report compiled by the disputed municipality administrator, Bamba Ndwandwe. 

They are accused of having received R10 million kickbacks from a service provider that had scored a R153 million water project in the district.

Breaking his silence on the allegations that surfaced earlier this month and backed by Ndwandwe’s dossier, Ncamphalala denied having received any money from the service provider.

“The case is a plan by abantu esabahlula enkomfeni ngo 2021 (The case is a plan orchestrated by those we defeated in the 2021 conference). The same person they used in 2021 to bankroll a plan to kill me, leading up to the regional conference, is the one who is accusing me of taking a bribe. He even paid for taxis for supporters of the accused during their appearance in the Mtubatuba court. The case was complicated by changing prosecutors and investigators of the political killings task team who were handling the case. They were changed at the beginning of the trial; the lead investigator never took a stand as he was dismissed from the case.

“The main person accusing me/us is the same individual who approached me for forgiveness in 2022 and confessed to giving money to specific individuals. I am not surprised they are back together now, working on another plan. Unfortunately, others are falling into a trap of a one-sided story of lies. I have never received money from the said individual. He must provide bank statements of the company from 2019, when the project started, that is where you will find out the people he paid and is using him now, and he is protecting them. I have never been interviewed or asked by anyone about the allegations,” said Ncamphalala.

The report recommended that the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA)  MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi take action, as well as report the matter to the police. The report revealed that the agreement was that the service provider pays 10% of the total amount of the work to both the official and Ncamphalala.

The report further stated that between January and November 2022, the service provider distributed 14 batches of cash to the regional leader. Each time the money was delivered, it was between R500,000 and R1.7 million.

According to the report, the company was awarded a R153 million tender in the 2018/2019 financial year to build the Nondabuya water scheme in the Jozini Local Municipality.

However, the project collapsed in 2023 after the service provider complained of escalating costs as a result of the bribe he had to pay monthly to the official and the ANC leader.

The municipality had already paid R128 million when the project collapsed.

The report further revealed that the company would add a 10% bribe when it invoices the municipality so that it does not incur costs from the money it charged for the project.

However, the agreement ended up affecting its profit because the municipality refused to alter the project scope and tender price to cover the 10% bribe when project costs increased due to market rates for building materials.

Besides extortion, the report also suggested that the company’s appointment was irregular since there was no bid for the work. The company was handpicked from the panel of engineering companies within the municipality.

The report also revealed that although the company was appointed in 2018, it actually started work in 2022, and the project collapsed the following year.

In the report, the company director stated that he was approached by the said official, who told him that for him to get the job, he must agree to pay 10% of every payment he received for the work, which the service provider agreed to.

The municipality and the provincial government are currently in a legal standoff over the latter’s decision to place the municipality under Section 139 (b), which required the CoGTA MEC to appoint an administrator.

In a media briefing on Wednesday, the ANC provincial coordinator, Mike Mabuyakhulu, questioned the authenticity of the allegations, asking why those who claimed to have allegations were not reporting to the police. 

willem.phungula@inl.co.za.

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