Over R1 billion of taxpayer funds under the microscope in South Africa

The South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has had a busy September, swooping in on high-level cases of corruption and fraud in government offices.

This includes probing R64 million for a contract worth R32 million at City Power, part of a broader R500 million corruption probe, and investigations into R724 million in suspicious contracts linked to high-ranking Polokwane officials. 

The Hawks visited the Polokwane Municipal offices on 17 September, following a criminal complaint from ActionSA Limpopo chairperson Victor Mothemela. 

Mothemela cited widespread tender irregularities between 2023 and 2025, which were allegedly awarded to foreign companies and businesses with close ties to Mayor John Mpe and other senior officials.

The Hawks obtained a high court order for the investigation and visited the offices. This was applauded by ActionSA and the Democratic Alliance (DA), who said it illustrates a renewed commitment to thoroughly examining allegations. 

The Polokwane Municipality has criticised these parties and the media for calling the visit a “raid” and said the Municipality has been fully cooperative with law enforcement. 

“It is misleading and inaccurate for some individuals and sections of the media to describe this process as a ‘raid.’ Equally, it is incorrect to attempt to draw the Executive Mayor, Cllr Makoro John Mpe, into this matter,” the municipality said.

“The Executive Mayor’s office was neither visited nor subjected to any request from the Hawks. At no point have the Hawks sought information from or about the Executive Mayor.”

The investigative unit visited the office of the accounting officer and seized documents relating to gift declarations of senior officials. 

The municipality further denied that the “visit” was related to multi-million rand tenders, and said it had to do with cases of material irregularities which the municipality had opened itself. 

The Hawks stated that they will not confirm the identity of the complainant, the nature of the complaint, or the exact nature of the investigation, to protect the integrity of the operation.

They confirmed that they received a complaint and obtained a search and seizure warrant regarding certain documents. 

R64 million spent on non-existent equipment

In addition, the Hawks visited the City Power offices in Johannesburg on 25 September. 

City Power said this is part of an ongoing investigation that began in 2024. City Power said the Hawks issued the utility a formal request for information, and that it has cooperated fully with this process. 

News24 investigations, in its on-going Power Connection series, uncovered much of this rot.

The publication reported how City Power’s payment of R64 million for a contract worth R32 million is part of the Hawks’ latest raids and ongoing corruption investigations into the power utility.

News24 reported that arrests were imminent as the Hawks finalised their investigation into corruption worth around R500 million.

The Freedom Front Plus (FF+), part of the multi-party coalition government in Johannesburg from 2016 to 2021, welcomed the investigation.

They said it became evident during this time that City Power was failing to fulfil its mandate. 

“The party is, therefore, not surprised that the Hawks’ preliminary investigation revealed abnormal and excessive payments made to certain contractors.”

City Power has long been outsourcing work to contractors that it could have completed itself. 

It added that the quality of workmanship and equipment used for repair and maintenance has been questioned. 

There are concerns that the upcoming rainy season will lead to a series of power outages when transformers, without being properly maintained or replaced, fail or catch fire. 

“It is not loadshedding that is crippling the city, but City Power’s failure to ensure the power network functions optimally,” FF+ said. 

DA Mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille, commented on social media that the City Power investigation illustrates “the depth of the rot that has to be dug out in Johannesburg”.

Closing in on previous investigations, earlier this month, on 15 September, the Hawks announced that the unit arrested two suspects in the Ratlou local municipality for fraud. 

The former Chief Financial Officer and the payroll clerk of the municipality will face the allegations in court. 

According the the Hawks, the CFO appointed the payroll clerk as an acting expenditure manager without the approval of the municipal manager. 

The CFO then authorised a R49,000 payment to the payroll clerk as an “acting allowance”. This is even though the payroll clerk did not perform any of the duties of an acting expenditure manager.