Staff Reporter
Ousted Mangaung Metro executive mayor Olly Mlamleli is believed to be among the high-profile individuals who have been arrested by the Hawks in the Free State in connection with a R250-million asbestos project in the province.
Although several news outlets quoted sources claiming Mlamleli had been nabbed for her alleged role in the controversial deal during the time she was the MEC for human settlements, Hawks provincial spokesperson Warrant Officer Lynda Steyn could only confirm the arrests but would not divulge the suspects’ names as they are yet to appear in court.
“Yes, we have arrested some former senior officials in the Free State provincial government and they will appear in court on Friday,” said Steyn.
“The Hawks have also made arrests in other parts of the country. They include contractors and some senior officials from national government departments. We expect at least seven people to appear in court,” she added.
Those arrested are believed to be the key players in the scheme in which the Free State’s department of human settlements spent over R250 million on an asbestos audit project which has since been declared unlawful by the Public Protector.
Unconfirmed reports say, apart from Mlamleli, those arrested so far also include former Free State human settlements head of department Nthimotse Mokhesi, former national human settlements director-general Thabane Zulu and Gauteng businessman Edwin Sodi.
Sodi’s company, Blackhead Consulting, was awarded the asbestos audit contract as a joint venture with Diamond Hill Trading in 2014.
Diamond Hill Trading owner Ignatius “Igo” Mpambani was killed in an alleged hit not long ago.
Sodi appeared at the Zondo Commission on State Capture on Tuesday where it emerged the businessman paid R600 000 to a car dealership as a deposit for a Range Rover bought by Zulu.
It’s believed Zulu’s former department was instrumental in ensuring approval for the transfer of an earlier asbestos audit contract from the Gauteng human settlements department to the Free State.
The commission also heard that Sodi made a contribution of R650 000 towards a property bought by Mokhesi in Bloemfontein.
The Public Protector confirmed in her report that there was gross financial wastage in the deal.
Of the R230-million paid to the Blackhead Consulting-Diamond Hill joint venture, only R21.3 million was used in the actual project.
The rest of the money is believed to have been pocketed by those who facilitated the project.
The Office of the Auditor General red-flagged the project as far back as July 2015 but it went on.