A "Top Secret” report has revealed that it was provincial director-general Marion Mbina-Mthembu who authorised the signing off of more than R22-million intended for events leading to Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Mandela died on December 5 2013. At the time Mbina-Mthembu was the head of department at the provincial Treasury.
In e-mails attached to the report, which was tabled before then premier Noxolo Kiviet, Mbina-Mthembu tells officials to make payments worth millions without the necessary paperwork being completed, even though she said she was aware of the risk of government being taken “for a ride”.
The report was never made public, but now the Saturday Dispatch has seen a copy of it.
Two days before the province hosted a memorial service for Mandela in Port Elizabeth, Mbina-Mthembu wrote to the then Eastern Cape Development Co-operation’s chief executive Sitembele Mase and chief financial officer Sandile Sentwa, giving them two hours to make a payment of at least R11.7-million.
On Thursday December 11 she wrote: “Please effect payments for the (memorial service) today no later than 11am” – instructing Mase and Sentwa to make payments of R10-million for “transportation and a mobilisation truck”, as well as R1.7-million for stage and sound.
“Details will come from MEC (Helen Sauls) August and I have forwarded your email address,” she said.
Then Mbina-Mthembu drops the bombshell, raising concern about the possibility of the funds for the memorial service being misappropriated as the province seemed ill-prepared for Mandela’s passing.
“It is imperative that after the event we get a team to check the actual infrastructure work and verify the prices linked to these things. Even if we cannot reverse some of these payments where government is taken for a ride, we do need to raise (it) but backed by facts and evidence. I get the sense that some people are taking chances but we are in trouble as a province. It does not look like we were prepared,” Mbina-Mthembu wrote.
An additional R2.5-million to R3-million balance was payable by the Saturday – the day of the event.
In the same e-mail, she said she would officially sign off all the paperwork three days after the memorial service, “as it is impossible now to be in PE and Mthatha and all operational venues”.
The revelation of the lack of preparedness on the part of Bhisho is damning for the provincial government, given that it was central to the national government’s plans for Mandela’s funeral. Years before he died, a clandestine government planning committee – which the Eastern Cape was part of – had been set up at national level to prepare for events and plans for his funeral. It had always been known that South Africa’s first democratic president would be buried in Qunu.
Also, in the months leading to his death, Mandela’s health had deteriorated rapidly.
But reading the report, it seems Mbina-Mthembu felt pressured to make the payments as the events would not take place without the money. Sauls-August was the provincial government’s organiser of the PE memorial service. But her spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha referred all media enquiries related to the Madiba funeral to provincial government spokesman Sizwe Kupelo. “Any communication regarding this matter is centralised at (Premier’s Office),” said Sicwetsha.
The money was taken from a R330-million social infrastructure grant that had been channelled to the ECDC by the provincial treasury.
ECDC was appointed only as a paymaster and it effected payments on transactions already authorised by treasury. ECDC had no role in awarding contracts to suppliers and service providers.
In July 2014 the Dispatch reported that Mbina-Mthembu in a report to the finance portfolio committee in Bhisho, said that there was no documentation to verify the expenditure of R9.2-million for the PE event.
The R22-million bill ECDC ended up paying for the Mandela funeral also included more than R333000 spent on meals from McDonald’s and more than R400000 on KFC “Street-wise Two” meals for marshalls. The spending contravened national Treasury’s instructions for Mandela events that the use of taxpayers’ money be confined to paying for transport and booking of venues only.
This backfired on the ECDC’s records as the parastatal received its first qualified audit opinion since 2007, largely due to the Mandela memorial spending.
The ECDC spending on the Mandela funeral also forms part of the public protector’s investigation into how taxpayers’ money was used in several municipalities in the province and government departments.
Kupelo declined to comment on behalf of both Mbina-Mthembu and Premier Phumulo Masualle, who was finance MEC at the time, saying: “It won’t be appropriate for me to comment on an issue that’s still under investigation,” said Kupelo.
Sentwa has since been demoted to head ECDC properties. Mase was suspended in relation to the Mandela spending but later resigned following an out-of-court settlement.
Mbina-Mthembu later joined the premier’s office as provincial DG, while Mase is now a “special adviser” to Masualle.
While similar, this Madiba funeral saga is different from the Buffalo City scandal, where R5-million was misappropriated.
Mandela Millions shocker: ‘Province was ill-prepared for Tata Madiba’s death’
Mandela died on December 5 2013. At the time Mbina-Mthembu was the head of department at the provincial Treasury.
In e-mails attached to the report, which was tabled before then premier Noxolo Kiviet, Mbina-Mthembu tells officials to make payments worth millions without the necessary paperwork being completed, even though she said she was aware of the risk of government being taken “for a ride”.
The report was never made public, but now the Saturday Dispatch has seen a copy of it.
Two days before the province hosted a memorial service for Mandela in Port Elizabeth, Mbina-Mthembu wrote to the then Eastern Cape Development Co-operation’s chief executive Sitembele Mase and chief financial officer Sandile Sentwa, giving them two hours to make a payment of at least R11.7-million.
On Thursday December 11 she wrote: “Please effect payments for the (memorial service) today no later than 11am” – instructing Mase and Sentwa to make payments of R10-million for “transportation and a mobilisation truck”, as well as R1.7-million for stage and sound.
“Details will come from MEC (Helen Sauls) August and I have forwarded your email address,” she said.
Then Mbina-Mthembu drops the bombshell, raising concern about the possibility of the funds for the memorial service being misappropriated as the province seemed ill-prepared for Mandela’s passing.
“It is imperative that after the event we get a team to check the actual infrastructure work and verify the prices linked to these things. Even if we cannot reverse some of these payments where government is taken for a ride, we do need to raise (it) but backed by facts and evidence. I get the sense that some people are taking chances but we are in trouble as a province. It does not look like we were prepared,” Mbina-Mthembu wrote.
An additional R2.5-million to R3-million balance was payable by the Saturday – the day of the event.
In the same e-mail, she said she would officially sign off all the paperwork three days after the memorial service, “as it is impossible now to be in PE and Mthatha and all operational venues”.
The revelation of the lack of preparedness on the part of Bhisho is damning for the provincial government, given that it was central to the national government’s plans for Mandela’s funeral. Years before he died, a clandestine government planning committee – which the Eastern Cape was part of – had been set up at national level to prepare for events and plans for his funeral. It had always been known that South Africa’s first democratic president would be buried in Qunu.
Also, in the months leading to his death, Mandela’s health had deteriorated rapidly.
But reading the report, it seems Mbina-Mthembu felt pressured to make the payments as the events would not take place without the money. Sauls-August was the provincial government’s organiser of the PE memorial service. But her spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha referred all media enquiries related to the Madiba funeral to provincial government spokesman Sizwe Kupelo. “Any communication regarding this matter is centralised at (Premier’s Office),” said Sicwetsha.
The money was taken from a R330-million social infrastructure grant that had been channelled to the ECDC by the provincial treasury.
ECDC was appointed only as a paymaster and it effected payments on transactions already authorised by treasury. ECDC had no role in awarding contracts to suppliers and service providers.
In July 2014 the Dispatch reported that Mbina-Mthembu in a report to the finance portfolio committee in Bhisho, said that there was no documentation to verify the expenditure of R9.2-million for the PE event.
The R22-million bill ECDC ended up paying for the Mandela funeral also included more than R333000 spent on meals from McDonald’s and more than R400000 on KFC “Street-wise Two” meals for marshalls. The spending contravened national Treasury’s instructions for Mandela events that the use of taxpayers’ money be confined to paying for transport and booking of venues only.
This backfired on the ECDC’s records as the parastatal received its first qualified audit opinion since 2007, largely due to the Mandela memorial spending.
The ECDC spending on the Mandela funeral also forms part of the public protector’s investigation into how taxpayers’ money was used in several municipalities in the province and government departments.
Kupelo declined to comment on behalf of both Mbina-Mthembu and Premier Phumulo Masualle, who was finance MEC at the time, saying: “It won’t be appropriate for me to comment on an issue that’s still under investigation,” said Kupelo.
Sentwa has since been demoted to head ECDC properties. Mase was suspended in relation to the Mandela spending but later resigned following an out-of-court settlement.
Mbina-Mthembu later joined the premier’s office as provincial DG, while Mase is now a “special adviser” to Masualle.
While similar, this Madiba funeral saga is different from the Buffalo City scandal, where R5-million was misappropriated.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos