ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe might land himself in hot water as president Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe a company with alleged links to him over a waste picking tender it scored in 2017.
This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate the R27 million tender, which was reportedly unlawfully awarded.
In 2018, the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development contracted Enviro Mobi to supply 58 waste pickers in the Ekurhuleni municipality with 200 three-wheeler motorbikes, known as Karikis, but had failed to deliver on the project a year after the tender was awarded.
The Karikis were meant to make it easier for waste pickers to collect and transport waste in and around the Ekurhuleni municipality, but the contract was reportedly issued in an unlawful manner.
In 2016, while he was still a member of parliament, Pule Mabe declared his directorship of Enviro Mobi and another company, Kariki Media, in the register of members’ interests.
SIU revealed that they would be investigating how the contract was awarded, whether there was any illegality, and would attempt to recover any financial losses by the state.
“The SIU will look at whether there was any related unauthorised, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by the institutions or financial losses suffered by the institutions or the government.
Furthermore, the SIU will investigate any irregular, improper or unlawful conduct by contractors, employees or officials of the institutions; or the suppliers, service providers or any other person or entity, relating to the allegations of corruption and maladministration,” they said.
ANC veteran who recently got fired from his job at Luthuli House said that explains why Pule Mabe was having a meltdown on Wednesday while addressing a media briefing.
“What is behind @pulemabe’s pathetic ranting and raving? Simple: Desperation to endear himself to the powers that be, in order to escape the consequences of the SIU investigation. Shame, he suffers from a condition called ‘#Karikis meltdown,” said Carl Niehaus.
