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MABUZA WIELDS AXE

THE SUIT: Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza oozes accomplishment and style. David Mabuza Mpumalanga MEC for Roads and Transport. Pic. Andrew Hlongwane. © Sowetan. ------ MAIN 25cm deep fc
THE SUIT: Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza oozes accomplishment and style. David Mabuza Mpumalanga MEC for Roads and Transport. Pic. Andrew Hlongwane. © Sowetan. ------ MAIN 25cm deep fc

MPUMALANGA Premier David Mabuza has dismissed an official in the agriculture department after he was found guilty of financial misconduct.

MPUMALANGA Premier David Mabuza has dismissed an official in the agriculture department after he was found guilty of financial misconduct.

The official, Skhumbuzo Nyambe, was found guilty by a disciplinary hearing of looting millions of taxpayers' money allegedly using his subordinate, Thynes Komape, who was an assistant director.

Last week Sowetan reported that officials in the department had allegedly squandered more than R100million meant to boost emerging farmers and food production in the province.

Mabuza appointed a forensic company to audit the management of the supply and delivery of fodder.

This followed claims that R31million set aside for drought relief was being squandered.

Nyambe, whom Komape has described as "rotten to the core", has become the first casualty of the probe.

The two were hauled before a disciplinary hearing where Komape became a witness against Nyambe.

Komape claimed that Nyambe had ordered him to irregularly appoint four companies for the delivery of fodder because the previous supplier, Lumeyer Boerdery, had delayed some deliveries.

According to Grant Thornton Business Risk, the director of the supply chain management, Connie Makgoka, said she gave Komape the names of companies she got from Yellow Pages to vet.

Makgoka said when she returned from leave she found that the companies that had been appointed were not those she had phoned and gave Komape to vet.

The appointed companies were Phumelelo Trading, Makhushu Transport, JC Roarty and Nomabali Trading.

The contracts were based on the rate per kilometer from Kimberley to the delivery points.

During the investigation, it turned out that two of the four companies had no transport when they were appointed by Komape.

They jointly overcharged the department by about R446189.

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