Suspended City of Tshwane CFO Gareth Mnisi has been accused of a conflict of interest during his testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Image: Oupa Mokoena/Independent Newspapers
Suspended City of Tshwane CFO Gareth Mnisi has been accused of a conflict of interest for assisting a company owned by Sergeant Fannie Nkosi’s brother with tender documentation for a tender outside the City of Tshwane.
The same company Ngaphesheya Construction and Projects, was simultaneously competing for a Tshwane Metro Police Department's R2.9 billion security tender, a process in which Mnisi was set to be one of the adjudicators as chairperson of the bid adjudication committee (BAC).
Testifying at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry Mnisi on Monday, he said he did nothing wrong by assisting Ngaphesheya, a company linked to Nkosi's brother Bheki.
"It had nothing to do with the City of Tshwane, firstly. Secondly, I did not look at any attachments and conduct a physical assessment of what was there. I just looked at raw documents provided and responded to key areas...So, there was no conflict of interest because of that," he said.
Unimpressed by his response Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga said: "For a chief financial officer that is a very narrow view of a conflict of interest."
He expressed concern that Mnisi assisted with the preparation of a bid document for the same entity that “is participating as a competitor in a bid process that you are going to chair, with a view to making recommendations on whether to award or not to award to the city manager".
Mnisi insisted that his action had no conflict of interest because there was no association between the bid and the City of Tshwane.
"I have no interest, whether financial or any other sort. Whether they receive or appointed in those areas in looking at the broad documentation... I stand not to benefit. I have not been promised any money...It is just for a friend who specialises in these matters to have a look at what is key for those documents," he said.
He said that even if the tender in question was advertised in Tshwane, he would still be allowed to assist tender bidders by clarifying general terms during the open application period.
"This is a matter that was further escalated to the city’s war room as a result of matters of these nature serving as a red tape, if I might put it as such - for individuals who have been disqualified for petty issues which could have been avoided had they understood the contents of the requirements of any bid," Mnisi said.
Madlanga, however, pushed back, saying: "This is totally different. This is your friend's brother's company. You assist that company for a bid, which as you say was for some other entity. It is something that you have an intimate relationship with. You have said you are a close friend of Nkosi. Based on what you are telling us you didn't even see a need for a disclosure."
Co-commissioner Advocate Sesi Baloyi suggested that Mnisi had an interest in and bias toward Ngaphesheya, even if he was not promised any financial rewards.
She said Mnisi’s actions could be viewed as illegal, amounting to participation in the corruption of a tender process already under way in Tshwane.
"The alternative is that you are promoting the financial interest of Ngaphesheya in another institution and that should have disqualified you to sit as a BAC chair in Tshwane or should have declared," Baloyi said.
The company that Mnisi assisted, Ngaphesheya, and El Shadai — one of the two Nkosi asked him to check for compliance — were among the seven companies appointed for the security tender in Tshwane.
Mnisi had earlier testified that Nkosi forwarded him a list of seven companies from suspended TMPD deputy chief Umashi Dhlamini to check for compliance.
Nkosi has been accused of conspiring with Dhlamini and Mnisi to help his brother's company secure a TMPD security tender despite the company not meeting the requirements.
Nkosi’s forwarded list of preferred tender bidders to Mnisi also read in part: "The above is from the red berets, please check with Mfowethu (Mnisi) if it is the same with his from CIC (Juju) to verify the authenticity." Mnisi flatly denied receiving a list from 'CIC Juju' who was identified as EFF leader Julius Malema.
On a different occasion Mnisi testified that he sent Nkosi a message detailing a tender for the supply, delivery and off-loading of refuse bags for the city for a three-year period, as and when required. The tender message stated that Mnisi had also sent the same message to Bheki Nkosi and that they “need to regroup on this”.
During his recent testimony Nkosi explained that he understood Mnisi’s message about regrouping to mean they should meet and that Bheki Nkosi should apply for the tender if he qualified.
Mnisi told the commission that he did not assist the Nkosi brothers to complete tender documents as he is prohibited by law.
Mnisi's testimony will resume on Tuesday.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za