Cape Town – Former National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) chief executive Joyce Mogale has appeared at the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court for alleged tender corruption that took place in 2016 involving over R113 million.
The allegations are that Mogale, 66, signed a contract with Blue Future Internet and Surveillance (PTY) Ltd for the provision, maintenance and support of end-user computer hardware for a period of three years, the Hawks said in a statement.
The adjusted contract stipulated that the amount involved was not to exceed R83 million, whereas the letter of acceptance of the offer made it clear that the value of the contract was only above R25 million.
The NHLS consequently paid the supplier R113 million, which exceeded the value of the contract by just over R87 million. Mogale has been charged for fraud and contravention of Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) following her misrepresentations to the Board of Directors at NHLS.
Mogale handed herself over to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Germiston on Monday morning shortly before her court appearance, where she was granted R20 000 bail. The case has been postponed to September 17 for a trial, where she will be joined by her fellow accomplices who are also out on bail.
Meanwhile, in a separate and unrelated case, a 38-year-old Nomasonto Rikhotso, who was employed as a manager at Power Life Global SA, was arrested for allegations of fraudulently transferring over R1.9 million into the account of her own business, Marindle Trading Enterprise, between April and May 2020.
Rikhotso was released on R5 000 bail in the Palm Ridge Court yesterday. The case has been postponed to October 13.
IOL