A procurement dispute at Transnet Port Terminals has widened after two employees submitted affidavits to the Hawks alleging that senior officials failed to act on irregularities linked to equipment contracts at Richards Bay.
The whistleblowers allege the state-owned company paid for machinery that did not meet tender requirements and, in some cases, could not be fully used because there were too few operators.
They also claim the concerns were known internally before the matter was escalated to the Auditor-General.
Equipment deal comes under scrutiny
The dispute centres on contracts involving High Power Equipment Africa, including one valued at more than R954 million.
According to the affidavits, some of the machinery allegedly differed from tender specifications, while the number of machines supplied exceeded the number of available drivers.
The whistleblowers say this resulted in Transnet paying for equipment that was standing idle.
The Mail & Guardian reported that the Auditor-General identified more than R100 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure in one financial year.
Whistleblowers question accountability
The employees allege responsibility extends beyond senior manager Thulasiwze Dlamini, who was identified in a forensic investigation into the procurement failures.
They claim other senior officials were either involved in, aware of or failed to act on the process.
Transnet disputes that position.
The company said Fundudzi Forensic Investigations made no findings against the Transnet Port Terminals executive committee and said some officials named by the whistleblowers were not involved in the procurement process.
Hawks now have affidavits
The affidavits also raise allegations about the appointment of HPE Africa after litigation involving another bidder, RADDS.
The whistleblowers claim the eventual arrangement was more expensive than earlier bids and involved equipment linked to RADDS.
Transnet said it had already referred procurement concerns to the Hawks under anti-corruption legislation, with the matter sent to the Durban Serious Corruption Investigation Unit.
The company said investigations and disciplinary processes are still under way.
The allegations against the senior officials remain untested, and Transnet said it is not aware of criminal investigations against the executives identified by the whistleblowers.