By ZINGISA MVUMVU and ASANDA NINI
A non-profit organisation at the centre of criminal allegations paid thousands of rand for Eastern Cape’s social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi’s junket to East Africa last October.
The owner and director of the company, Umnotho Training and Development (UTD), Pooven Chetty, is alleged to have been paid millions of rands by various municipalities in the province, using different companies.
He is also the owner of a related company branded by the MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Fikile Xasa, as being a bogus company run by criminals following a National Treasury investigation.
And it has been established that both companies were contracted and paid by the provincial government by a former head of both Cogta and social development, Stanley Kanyile.
Chetty yesterday poured cold water on allegations that their company was bogus and that they were criminals as Xasa had claimed.
“Those allegations are completely baseless. We are not criminals. In fact we are professionals.
“I for one am a qualified chartered accountant and our company had assisted several municipalities that have since achieved clean audit outcomes,” said Chetty.
The Dispatch has seen copies of payments for almost R300 000 that UTD paid for Sihlwayi and five other senior officials to go on a “study tour” to Kenya and Tanzania.
The bill included R296000 for air tickets for the entire group, and another R7900 for Sihlwayi’s travel costs.
The five were Vuyolwethu Macaula, who works in Sihlwayi’s office; COO Ntombi Baart; Athini Majikija of the youth development directorate; women development official Nobubele Volsak; as well as senior manager, Faith Roberts.
The Dispatch has seen a copy of their subsistence travel claims for the trip which cost taxpayers an additional R72000.
The Dispatch can also reveal today that UTD also settled the group’s pre-travel medical checkups at British Africa Travel Clinic at a cost of R342 for each of them.
Contacted for comment yesterday Sihlwayi refused to comment, directing questions to her spokesman Mzukisi Solani.
Solani confirmed that UTD was not a registered service provider for the department but was “an agent that was contracted for cooperatives” in its capacity as an NPO.
Delivering her policy speech in March this year, Sihlwayi confirmed leading the delegation to East Africa, a trip she described as “very fruitful”.
The Saturday Dispatch can also reveal that UTD’s sister company Umnotho Business Consulting (UBC) has been implicated in the damning National Treasury report into Cogta. Xasa told the Saturday Dispatch that the report into UBC’s dealings in various municipalities had been referred to the Hawks for criminal investigations.
Xasa described UBC as a “bogus company” run by “criminal elements”.
“Investigators have checked the profile of this company and discovered that it was led by criminals,” Xasa said.
“All its owners have criminal records. So this is a money-making scheme and law enforcement will have to follow on such details,” Xasa told the Saturday Dispatch this week.
According to Xasa, the common denominator in Umnotho’s dealings with the two departments – Cogta and social development – is Khanyile who moved from head of Cogta to social development before resigning.
Xasa accused Khanyile of using Umnotho and its related organisations as a front to channel government funds.
Khanyile rubbished the claims saying they were “nonsense and totally untrue”.
He said such perceptions were not supported by any evidence and that Umnotho was contracted “according to strict compliance with legislation”.
Xasa said Umnotho had been doing business with some provincial municipalities “with no requisite competency to do so” and that “it then moved to social development when Mr Khanyile moved to that department (in 2015)”.
Umnotho owner and director Chetty yesterday confirmed he was involved in both UTD and UBC and that the budget for the East Africa trip was channelled through UTD by social development.
Chetty said he had only read about the Treasury’s report in the media but has yet to be given a chance to respond to its findings regarding Umnotho. “We were not organising anything. For our involvement in the trip there was a signed memo and authorisation, and I only pay upon authorisation from the department,” said Chetty. — asandan@dispatch.co.za / zingisam@dispatch.co.za
MEC's bogus bankroller: NPO settled R300k toward Sihlwayi’s trip
A non-profit organisation at the centre of criminal allegations paid thousands of rand for Eastern Cape’s social development MEC Nancy Sihlwayi’s junket to East Africa last October.
The owner and director of the company, Umnotho Training and Development (UTD), Pooven Chetty, is alleged to have been paid millions of rands by various municipalities in the province, using different companies.
He is also the owner of a related company branded by the MEC for cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Fikile Xasa, as being a bogus company run by criminals following a National Treasury investigation.
And it has been established that both companies were contracted and paid by the provincial government by a former head of both Cogta and social development, Stanley Kanyile.
Chetty yesterday poured cold water on allegations that their company was bogus and that they were criminals as Xasa had claimed.
“Those allegations are completely baseless. We are not criminals. In fact we are professionals.
“I for one am a qualified chartered accountant and our company had assisted several municipalities that have since achieved clean audit outcomes,” said Chetty.
The Dispatch has seen copies of payments for almost R300 000 that UTD paid for Sihlwayi and five other senior officials to go on a “study tour” to Kenya and Tanzania.
The bill included R296000 for air tickets for the entire group, and another R7900 for Sihlwayi’s travel costs.
The five were Vuyolwethu Macaula, who works in Sihlwayi’s office; COO Ntombi Baart; Athini Majikija of the youth development directorate; women development official Nobubele Volsak; as well as senior manager, Faith Roberts.
The Dispatch has seen a copy of their subsistence travel claims for the trip which cost taxpayers an additional R72000.
The Dispatch can also reveal today that UTD also settled the group’s pre-travel medical checkups at British Africa Travel Clinic at a cost of R342 for each of them.
Contacted for comment yesterday Sihlwayi refused to comment, directing questions to her spokesman Mzukisi Solani.
Solani confirmed that UTD was not a registered service provider for the department but was “an agent that was contracted for cooperatives” in its capacity as an NPO.
Delivering her policy speech in March this year, Sihlwayi confirmed leading the delegation to East Africa, a trip she described as “very fruitful”.
The Saturday Dispatch can also reveal that UTD’s sister company Umnotho Business Consulting (UBC) has been implicated in the damning National Treasury report into Cogta. Xasa told the Saturday Dispatch that the report into UBC’s dealings in various municipalities had been referred to the Hawks for criminal investigations.
Xasa described UBC as a “bogus company” run by “criminal elements”.
“Investigators have checked the profile of this company and discovered that it was led by criminals,” Xasa said.
“All its owners have criminal records. So this is a money-making scheme and law enforcement will have to follow on such details,” Xasa told the Saturday Dispatch this week.
According to Xasa, the common denominator in Umnotho’s dealings with the two departments – Cogta and social development – is Khanyile who moved from head of Cogta to social development before resigning.
Xasa accused Khanyile of using Umnotho and its related organisations as a front to channel government funds.
Khanyile rubbished the claims saying they were “nonsense and totally untrue”.
He said such perceptions were not supported by any evidence and that Umnotho was contracted “according to strict compliance with legislation”.
Xasa said Umnotho had been doing business with some provincial municipalities “with no requisite competency to do so” and that “it then moved to social development when Mr Khanyile moved to that department (in 2015)”.
Umnotho owner and director Chetty yesterday confirmed he was involved in both UTD and UBC and that the budget for the East Africa trip was channelled through UTD by social development.
Chetty said he had only read about the Treasury’s report in the media but has yet to be given a chance to respond to its findings regarding Umnotho. “We were not organising anything. For our involvement in the trip there was a signed memo and authorisation, and I only pay upon authorisation from the department,” said Chetty. — asandan@dispatch.co.za / zingisam@dispatch.co.za
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