The scandal surrounding former Ekurhuleni City manager Dr Imogen Mashazi’s R3, 35 million private jet trip to London, allegedly bankrolled by XET Solutions, draws direct parallels to the state capture blueprints exposed by the Zondo Commission.
Image: OUPA MOKOENA Independent Newspapers
Criminal charges have been laid against former Ekurhuleni City manager, Dr Imogen Mashazi, following revelations that an IT firm, XET Solutions, allegedly bankrolled her R3.35 million trip on a private jet to London.
This luxury junket, booked during her tenure and linked to subsequent municipal contracts, raises questions about the corrupt tender-for-favours blueprint exposed by the Zondo Commission.
The Zondo Commission identified corruption in public procurement as the “centrepiece of state capture”, describing it as a blueprint in which tender processes were manipulated to favour private entities and enrich politically connected individuals, in the final report submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2022.
This was after the commission found that former ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa received over R1.6 billion in payment and paid-for luxury accommodation from Jehan Mackay, an executive at the technology company EOH.
The commission recommended that further investigation into these payments be conducted to determine if they were bribes aimed at securing lucrative government tenders.
Following these findings, Kodwa was criminally charged. He also resigned as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture and stepped down as an ANC member of Parliament. The case was withdrawn in 2024 and reinstated in March 2026.
Kodwa has consistently denied all corruption charges against him.
XET Solutions and Mashazi this week were allegedly implicated in a similar state capture conspiracy.
This was after Sunday reports revealed that XET Solutions paid for Mashazi’s R3,35m private jet trip to London in 2022.
Mashazi was in her position as the City Manager at that time, after being appointed the first female city manager in 2016.
The Madlanga Commission, earlier this year, questioned Mashazi about the controversial trip and she dismissed the line of questioning as “harassment” and maintained it was a “private social engagement”.
She appeared before the commission to answer allegations of severe corruption, abuse of power, and malfeasance within the city and the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
Records show that XET Solutions allegedly secured at least five IT contracts from Ekurhuleni over seven years, including tenders for information and communication technology contracts in 2021 and 2023, and a solar billing system.
XET Solutions was established in 2014 and is located in Midrand, Johannesburg.
The company also maintains an additional core office in KwaZulu-Natal.
Ntokozo Excellent Xaba and Ian Alaric Makhathini are mentioned as directors of the company.
However, according to the reports, Ntokozo became the director in January 2026 before stepping down
The reports mentioned Nelisiwe Xaba as the sole director.
Records also show that Ntokozo’s name was registered under XET Solutions on the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) transversal contract RFB 1183/2022 as a contact person and the company’s representative.
This is a five-year agreement established to appoint a panel of service providers tasked with providing IT services and skills for SITA and various South African government departments.
The company did not respond to questions sent on Tuesday morning.
Although no specific financial value was published, the company was awarded a 36-month contract with the West Rand District Municipality (WRDM), which commenced in August 2021 and concluded in 2024.
The company also entered into a formal procurement process with the OR Tambo District Municipality for the provision of billing processing services for a period of one year in 2021. This was valued at an amount of R6,807,240.
XET Solutions was also awarded at least five contracts by the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality over the past seven years, with a combined value of R170 million.
The contracts focus on providing information technology (IT) infrastructure, engineering services, and digital transformation solutions to improve the technology used for municipal service delivery.
Ekurhuleni, WRDM, and OR Tambo municipalities did not respond.
eThekwini and SITA requested an extension until Thursday, but had not responded at the time of this publication.
Meanwhile, the DA has opened a criminal case of fraud and corruption against Mashazi and XET Solutions following the revelations. The case was formally lodged by the DA’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, at the Germiston Police Station.
Rasilingwane said this is part of the billions of public funds that have been looted while service delivery collapses.
“There is therefore reason to be concerned that the former City Manager has violated not just the supply chain management policies of the city, but key parts of the Municipal Systems Act, the MFMA, and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.”
“What we find highly suspicious is that the company involved in this matter, XET Solutions, has won tenders from the City to work on vital infrastructure related to electronic bill payments and is therefore involved with the City's billing system,” she said.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za