A businesswoman who boasts of providing catering services for ANC bigwigs, including President Jacob Zuma, is at the centre of a R1.4-billion tender battle.

Ethel Ruth Shongwe, who allegedly has close links to Mpumalanga legislature speaker Thandi Shongwe, is also a former deputy chairwoman of the Mpumalanga tender board. She is a director of one of the 17 bidders who were awarded a R1.4-billion school feeding tender last year.

In May last year, North Gauteng High Court Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen found that Shongwe had submitted two bids under two companies and should have been disqualified in terms of the resolution adopted by the bid evaluation committee.

Van Nieuwenhuizen also found that Shongwe hastily formed Mabeke Women and Mbetse Ladies about a month before the closing date of bid submissions.

Shongwe, the only director of the two companies, was appointed as one of the service providers in the lucrative tender under Mbetse Ladies. "The 15th respondent (Mbetse Ladies) had no experience in nutrition and food programmes management, or at most one month's experience," said Van Nieuwenhuizen.

Shongwe is also the owner of the Nutting House Lodge in Nelspruit where the DA has claimed the provincial government and legislature held functions.

The lodge has been operating since June 2002.

Sowetan has also learnt that Shongwe was awarded the catering tender during premier David Mabuza's state of the province address in February.

The DA wrote to Mabuza's office in May, asking the integrity unit to investigate.

They accused Thandi of using her position as speaker to appoint her sister-in-law to do the job.

Ethel denied that she was the speaker's sister-in-law and that she was giving her business.

"I own a big facility and anyone can come. I have been having government functions - not only government functions but all functions. I always have the auditor-general.

"The January 8 event [last year during the celebrations for the formation of the ANC, which was founded on January 8 1912] was held at my place. Jacob Zuma came and I do not know how it's related to the speaker.

"[Deputy President] Cyril Ramaphosa has also been here. I do catering for huge events. I do everything. I was doing catering for the department of social development at the weekend. Was it the speaker?" she asked.

Asked about the two tender bids, she said she did not want to comment. Approached for comment, Thandi denied that she was related to the businesswoman.

"I know her as a businesswoman and someone from Mpumalanga, but I am not related to Ethel. I do not sit in any tender process. I have no say and I work for the legislature and not government."

Court legal bill costs R87m

The Mpumalanga department of education has already spent R87-million in taxpayers' money to fight the R1.4-billion school nutrition tender in court.

The department incurred R161-million irregular expenditure, half of which was spent on the court case.

In a response by the department to the portfolio committee on education, culture, sports and recreation, the department revealed that it incurred irregular expenditure for monies spent on the court case.

DA education spokeswoman Jane Sithole said the irregular expenditure was also contained in the department's annual report for the 2014-2015 financial year. "Irregular expenditure incurred as a result of the high court finding against the department in terms of awarding the national school nutrition programme. [The] bid was set aside by high court and [the matter is] sub judice," wrote the department.

However, department spokesman Gerald Sambo denied that they had spent the money on the court case.

"The alleged R87-million has been spent on [the] National School Nutrition Programme [NSNP]," Sambo said.

Sithole said it was a concern that education MEC Reginah Mhaule was unable to apply the principles of good governance and transparency in her department.

"Learners in Quintile 1 to 3 schools have been robbed of R87-million that could have gone towards providing them with meals," Sithole said.

The nutrition programme is meant to feed poor children in schools.

The group of business people who challenged the department in court have allowed the appointed contractors to continue rendering services so that school children do not starve.

School food tender war goes to SCA

A court battle over a R1.4-billion Mpumalanga school feeding scheme tender is heading for the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

The war over the tender began last year when seven companies took the department to court, believing they had been sidelined in the adjudication process.

They approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, which in May last year found there was rigging and irregularities in awarding the tender.

Judge Nicoline Janse van Nieuwenhuizen then set it aside after making a finding that the conduct of the officials involved in the adjudication of the bid process was "abhorrent and shocking".

Department spokesman Gerald Sambo confirmed that the department was appealing the matter.

Lawyer Dudu Ngwenya, representing the businessmen, said the department was yet to file papers in Bloemfontein .

"They are busy compiling their appeal record which they will file in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein," Ngwenya said. "They have until the 25th of January to do that from which (sic) we will then have to file our heads of argument.

"They will then file their papers and then we will get a date and we will be going to the appeal court ."

Van Nieuwenhuizen had also found that education department head Mahlasedi Mhlabane had not established what issues were taken into account in adjudicating the bid, why they were taken into account, and the reasons for the decisions made.

She ordered Mhlabane to consider and adjudicate on the bid in a month.

The department defied court orders by re-advertising the tender several times even though it was dismissed with costs.