SIU to probe North West Transport Investments Contracts and Payments

By Staff Reporter

The Special Investigating Unit has been authorised to investigate procurement, contracting, payments and claims at North West Transport Investments and two of its subsidiaries, including actions taken during the entity’s business-rescue process.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to investigate allegations of serious maladministration, corruption and irregular expenditure involving North West Transport Investments (NTI), its wholly owned subsidiary North West Star SOC Limited (NSL), and Atteridgeville Bus Service SOC Limited (ABS).

The investigation follows the signing of a presidential proclamation authorising the SIU to examine procurement and contracting processes at the state-owned transport entity, including contracts for fuel, vehicle rental and commuter bus services.

The SIU will investigate the procurement and contracting of fuel supplied by Zentrafor Fuel (Pty) Limited, trading as FuelU, as well as vehicle rental services provided under a Vehicle Rental Agreement dated 28 July 2023.

It will also examine commuter bus services provided under a Sub-Contractor Agreement dated 7 July 2023, by or on behalf of NTI, together with payments made for those services.

The investigation extends beyond the awarding and administration of contracts. The SIU has also been authorised to examine the receipt, processing, approval and payment of claims submitted by Tansanat Coachlines (Pty) Limited, Ziggy Investments CC, and the Tansanat Coachlines (Pty) Limited-Ziggy Investments CC joint venture.

The unit will determine whether these processes complied with applicable legislation and guidelines issued by National Treasury or the relevant provincial treasury, and whether any individuals or entities received undue benefits.

The proclamation also gives the SIU authority to investigate the conduct of the business-rescue practitioner appointed to NTI on 21 July 2022, as well as the actions of the practitioner’s agents and NTI employees.

The unit will examine whether those actions amounted to serious maladministration and whether they resulted in actual or potential financial losses to NTI or the state.

The investigation comes against the backdrop of longstanding financial and governance difficulties at the state-owned transport entity.

NTI entered voluntary business rescue proceedings in July 2022, while official oversight records have previously raised concerns about the entity’s financial reporting and governance. NTI and entities within its group have also faced significant financial pressures, with the provincial government providing financial support to assist with operational obligations.

The business-rescue period is particularly significant because several of the transactions now under investigation date from 2023, after NTI had entered business rescue. The SIU’s mandate means the procurement and contracting decisions made during this period will be examined alongside the conduct of those responsible for administering the business-rescue process.

The investigation also includes contracts involving companies identified in recent reporting as being linked to businessman Suliman Carrim. Those links and the circumstances surrounding the contracts will form part of the broader examination of NTI’s procurement and contracting processes, rather than constituting findings of wrongdoing against any individual or company.

The SIU has not made findings of corruption against the companies or individuals named in the proclamation. Its mandate is to establish whether procurement, contracting, claims and payments complied with the law and whether any wrongdoing caused or could have caused losses to the entity or the state.

The investigation will also examine whether any person or entity received an undue benefit from the transactions under scrutiny and whether officials acted in accordance with the applicable legal and financial framework.

If evidence of criminal conduct is uncovered, the SIU said it would be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecution.

The SIU may also institute civil proceedings in the High Court or the Special Tribunal to address wrongdoing arising from corruption, fraud or maladministration and to seek the recovery of losses suffered by the state.

The investigation therefore places both NTI’s contracting practices and aspects of its troubled business-rescue period under formal scrutiny, with the SIU empowered to pursue criminal referrals and civil recovery where the evidence warrants further action.