ActionSA learns of R197 million tender paid to KZN company for Beyers Naude road upgrade

7 November 2023

ActionSA has recently discovered that the tender of nearly R200 million to upgrade K31, Beyers Naude Drive (Road D374), between the R114 and Peter Road was paid out to a KwaZulu-Natal company, GMK Civils, owned by Sabelo Mjwara, which specialises in civil, building, and fencing projects.

Despite this, the multimillion-rand project has been abandoned and yet to be completed, as it has been alleged that Mjwara has since spent the money on luxury cars and is off the grid.

This follows the letter we wrote to Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, on 28 October 2023, requesting a status update regarding the upgrade of the road, which he has yet to respond to.

It is bogus that it has been nearly five years since the project was initially tendered for R168 million and a year since it was officially awarded to GMK Civils for a whopping R197 million.

Between 2019 and 2023, what has changed? Why the bogus R29 million increases on a project that was tendered for a certain amount?

To worsen the matter, it was further revealed that Buyi Civils and Taochi Investment, which were appointed as subcontractors to the project, representing 30% of the project’s total value, were not paid.

The decision to hire an obscure company from KwaZulu-Natal out of a list of more than qualified and capable constructors leaves much a great deal to be desired. Why overlook hundreds of companies in the province alone to select Mjwara’s company?

What special skills does GMK Civils offer? Who exactly is Sabelo Mjwara, and how did he qualify to receive the R197 million tender awarded to him?

The delay has most especially inconvenienced businesses that operate and residents that travel on that road.

ActionSA values economic growth and the termination of corruption, which should not be tolerated but rather harshly persecuted.

There are quite a number of these uncompleted and abandoned road upgrades in the province, and we were hoping that Premier Lesufi would take us into confidence about his administration's plans around them.

We will ensure that those responsible are held accountable, transparency is achieved, and answers from those in charge of the awarding of the tender and upgrade of the road are received.

The completion of Beyers Naude is crucial. Millions cannot be blown on greedy individuals who have no regard for the betterment of the country.

Issued by Funzi Ngobeni, ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson, 7 November 2023