Former spokesperson of the African National Congress and National Executive Committee (NEC) member Pule Mabe has announced that he is stepping aside from the political party's highest decision-making body.
Mabe addressed journalists outside the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Ekurhuleni on Wednesday, after he was charged with corruption in connection to a R27 million tender.
Seven accused people including Mabe, his wife Mmatlhekelo Elsie Mabe appeared in court to seek bail, while the other two accused are companies.
The seven were granted bail of R30,000 each and the matter was postponed to March 25, 2025.
The case involves a controversial R27 million tender for waste collection vehicles, awarded under what has been termed “suspicious” circumstances.
The tender was allegedly unlawfully awarded to Mabe’s company, KG Media trading as Enviro Mobi, in March 2017. Enviro Mobi is listed as accused number eight while Pule Mabe is accused number seven. Mmatlhekelo is accused number 5.
“We immediately the process of constructing a letter to the secretary general of the ANC, comrade Fikile Mbalula to advice the ANC that we will, in accordance with the resolution of the 54th national conference committed to the renewal of the ANC that we will step aside from our active position in the National Executive Committee,” said Mabe who was with his wife.
“Also, on the very same token, advise the integrity commission of the ANC of these charges that have since been preferred against us,” he said.
“We are doing so not because we are guilty but because over the past 30 years that we have been members of the ANC we have understood the importance of carrying resolutions of the ANC with everything else that we do.”
Mabe said he has already phoned Mbalula, before he was charged, but had seen media reports alleging that he was going to be charged.
“I said to my wife, we have had this hanging over our heads for some time, perhaps it is time to use open courts to defend an innovation that we engineered back in 2010, supported by the late comrade Edna Molewa who was the minister of environmental affairs, Mabe said.
“We went on to create employment for many others. It was through this innovation that during Covid-19 times and when people were being given relief we were able to create over 3,000 jobs in the Eastern Cape; over 1,000 jobs in Mpumalanga; 1,000 more jobs in the North West province. We are proud of this because the beneficiaries of this innovation are there. They are living beings.”
Mabe said he and his wife are hard working and everything they have earned in South Africa came out of hard work. The former Member of Parliament insists he earned the money legitimately.
The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development awarded the company a contract to deliver 200 motorised three-wheeled waste-collecting vehicles, commonly referred to as karikis or tuk tuks.
It is the State’s case that former employers of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Develepment Loyiso Mkwana, Thandeka Mbassa and Abdullah Mohamed Ismail approved the payment of more than R33 million into the FNB account of Enviro Mobi without following procedures.
The R33 million included R6 million for the storage of the waste collection vehicles.
Advocate Nonyane, for the prosecution that bail was not opposed by the State.
Stating out the involvement of the accused, Nonyane told the court that Pule Mabe, even after resigning from the company Enviro Mobi, continued to remain a signatory to the bank account with full control of the bank account.
“There is a company known as AM Consulting which was a mechanical engineering consultancy. This company was mandated by the Special Investigating Unit to inspect the three-wheeler motorised vehicles that were supplied to GDARD. The total number of these three-wheeler motorised vehicles delivered is 196 instead of 200. Four were not delivered,” Nonyane said.
“The total amount of these non-delivered three-wheeler motorised vehicles it stands at R511, 860.”
Nonyane said about 103 of the vehicles delivered by Mabe’s company were delivered to waste-pickers in a bid to create employment but some of the tuk tuks are parked because of malfunctioning and have mechanical defects.
“It was also discovered that there are also no spare parts for these three-wheelers. Most of these vehicles had mechanical defects.,” said Nonyane.
He submitted that Enviro Mobi paid more than R1.6 million into the personal bank account of Pule Mabe.
“But it is not know for what,” said Nonyane.
Another company received, Kariki Media Holdings received R6 million from the proceeds of the tender, from Enviro Mobi.
He said although Pule Mabe later resigned from Enviro Mobi, he remained a signatory on the bank account with full control of the bank account.
Nonyane also stated that the tender was awarded without following proper government procedures.
The prosecution also stated that instead of supplying 200 three-wheeler vehicles, Enviro Mobi only delivered 196 vehicles.
Mabe, through his lawyer, told the court that there were valid reasons why the four vehicles were not delivered. The four vehicles were damaged by bad weather, said Mabe.
“Accused one (Loyiso Mkwana), two (Thandeka Mbassa) and four (Abdullah Mohamed Ismail) were employees of what we refer to as GDARD. They were responsible for the appointment of accused number eight Enviro Mobi pertaining to a tender thereof. They were aware that accused eight only submitted costing for one year, instead of the required three years,” he said.
“Accused number eight (Enviro Mobi) did not have the necessary expertise at the time the tender was awarded.”
He said tender was awarded because of the proposal that was drafted by a certain private company.
Mkwana and Ismail allegedly recommended the first batch of payment, amounting to R16 million to Enviro Mobi “for goods and services received although no services were rendered” at the time. Ismail then authorised the payment even though he knew no goods services had been delivered at the time, said Nonyane.
Nonyane said the money became an advance payment.
Mkwana then recommended the payment of the second invoice worth R9.3 million. After the payment, a third invoice was also received by Mkwana from the GDARD finance department and she recommended the payment of the invoice. Ismail also authorised the payment of the invoice.
“All these payments of the three invoices were made without proof of delivery of the three-wheeler motorised vehicles,” said Mkwana.
An additional payment of R6.4 million was made for the storage of the tuk tuks at the recommendation of GDARD senior officials Matilda Gasela and Ismail, according to the prosecution.
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