Shady deals, bribes and shoddy work
MARCH 22 1996: Daniel Jagadasan Singh gives a R4 000 bribe to George Spence, an eThekwini municipal clerk, to overlook and approve a section of condemned work where a pipeline is being laid;
AUGUST 15 1997: Singh pleads guilty and is sentenced to a fine of R6 000 or 12 months in jail;
AUGUST 8 2005: Dolphin Whispers Trading 23, a consortium with Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Nandi, concludes a R52.4-million contract with Singh’s Prainder Civils & Earthworks to build a luxury apartment complex;
NOVEMBER 29 2003: Remant Alton Land Transport, a consortium headed by Singh, buys Durban’s bus service from the eThekwini Municipality for R70-million;
MARCH 19 2007: Dolphin Whispers’ directors, in court papers in the High Court in Durban, accuse Prainder Civils of poor workmanship. Singh’s company is ultimately paid about R25-million for the incomplete project;
MARCH 13 2009: Remant Alton sells back the bus service to the eThekwini Municipality for R405-million while continuing to run it;
MAY 28 2009: Singh’s lawyer, Rajan Naidoo, advises him to stand down from his R960 000 a year post as chairman of Remant Alton because of the criminal conviction for bribery;
OCTOBER 30 2011: Singh’s Gralio Precast is awarded a R176-million contract to build 500 houses in Cornubia, a R25-billion mixed-use development in Durban;
AUGUST 21 2012: Singh’s lawyer, Naidoo, joins Afriscan Construction. This week, the company, chaired by Sibusiso Ncube, husband of KwaZuluNatal MEC Nomusa Dube, was awarded a R71-million contract in Cornubia. Naidoo also sat on several boards linked to Singh, including Remant Alton and Dolphin Whisper Trading 23;
FEBRUARY 20 2013: Singh resigns as a director of Rectangle Property Investments, which he bought in 2010. It was the developer of the doomed R220million Tongaat mall;
MARCH 6 2013: In the High Court in Durban, Phoenix Tenants’ and Residents’ Association expose shoddy workmanship in their crumbling homes, a R235-million project to build 1 244 units given to Woodglaze, a company owned by Singh’s family;
JULY 23 2013: A forensic audit report into allegations of fraud and mismanagement in the eThekwini Municipality, released by Manase & Associates, exposes shoddy workmanship at two lowcost housing projects — Burbreeze and Hammond’s Farm — worth a combined R86-million awarded to Woodglaze and Gralio. Neither company was registered with the National Home Builders’ Registration Council at the time they were awarded the contracts;
NOVEMBER 19 2013: A section of the Tongaat mall collapses, ultimately killing two people and injuring 29. Singh’s son, Ravi Jagadasen, 31, is a director for the property developer, Rectangle Property Investments, and contractor Gralio Precast.
NOVEMBER 28 2013: eThekwini municipal manager Sibusiso Sithole announces an internal investigation into the 500 houses built by Gralio in Cornubia. — Matthew Savides