Inquiry into nuclear deal under way

ENERGY minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has launched an investigation against several senior officials in her department for alleged nuclear tender irregularities amounting to R80-million.

Kubayi’s office has confirmed that it was probing the possible violation of national Treasury regulations when awarding an R80-million contract to a nuclear transactional advisor.

“There are still investigations going on, in the matters raised in your questions and therefore we are unable to respond as it will jeopardise and weaken the case,” said Kubayi’s office in response questions from reporters.

According to documents the newspaper has seen, Energy Director-General Thabane Zulu, his deputy Zizamele Mbambo, procurement specialist Ndaba Ngwane, and Chief Financial Officer Yvonne Chetty signed a deviation request to sign off the deal.

Zulu has since been moved to head the Strategic Energy Fund while Ndaba has quietly exited the department. Mbambo remains in his position despite awarding the contract, which a leaked document shows amounts to R80-million.

The scandal started at the end of August last year, when one of the consulting firms in the nuclear build programme, Mahlaka-A-Phalala (MAP) compiled a report finding that the department was not ready to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for the intended nuclear new build programme, estimated to be worth R1-trillion.

On 22 September, Mbambo and Ngwane requested Chetty and Zulu to approve a deviation from normal procurement processes, in practice allowing MAP to continue work on the development of a transactional advisor.

The next day, Chetty and Zulu agreed to the deviation, though Chetty warned it was subject to the buy-in of the National Treasury and the office of the attorney-general.

However, Mbambo and Ngwane merely told MAP to continue with a second phase of the contract, the cost of which would grow by R80-million to R100million by March despite the required governance processes allegedly not having been followed.

On 27 September, then Minister of Energy Tina Joemat-Pettersson suspended all payments related to the transactional advisor to MAP until the department had submitted a verification report to her on all deliverables received.

Zulu said only the department could comment. Efforts to contact Mbambo for comment failed, and Ngwane could not be tracked down. — DDC