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News24

2 days ago

Controversial Trust Medium 65% #ekurhuleni #corruption #tender fraud #matlala family #state capture #investigations #procurement #news24 #gauteng

Zagane Matlala secures R3.7m Ekurhuleni tender days after taking control of shell company

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Key Strategic Points

  1. 1 Zagane Matlala took control of Bonavista Learning Academy, a former restaurant, only 10 days before the bid submission deadline for a three-year skills development contract with Ekurhuleni.
  2. 2 The tender required submission of three years of financial statements and proof of prior training experience, requirements difficult to meet given Matlala's recent control of a company with no training history.
  3. 3 According to the city, Matlala's company trained approximately 1,500 Ekurhuleni employees in skills ranging from operating graders and TLBs to painting roads.
  4. 4 Cat Matlala previously received a R360 million police tender (R15 million paid before cancellation) and obtained at least R15 million from Timbisa Hospital, establishing a pattern of state procurement exploitation.
  5. 5 The Ekurhuleni tender was issued from the HR portfolio headed by Linda Goska, the same official linked to protecting Julius Kunazi when police officers attempted action against him.
  6. 6 The Matlala family maintained an ostentatious lifestyle funded by tender money, including two Pretoria mansions, high-end vehicle cavalcades, and Zagane's repeated trips to Turkey for cosmetic surgery.
  7. 7 News24's investigation, titled 'Nine Lives King Cat in his Tender Empire,' documents how the Matlala family network extends across multiple state institutions including SAPS, Timbisa Hospital, and Ekurhuleni municipality.

Notable Quotes

“She took this entity which really had no footprint and used to be a restaurant and turn it into a training academy and within weeks go on to score major government tenders.”

— Jeff Wixs, News24 investigations journalist

“How do you provide proof of prior experience when you've only been in control of this company for 10 days?”

— Jeff Wixs

“We don't yet understand the true reach of the Matlala family's influence especially as it regards state procurement.”

— Jeff Wixs

“The Matlala family conducts business in a dubious fashion. That's the very lowest bar of what we found especially in this tender.”

— Jeff Wixs

“They are in essence a quintessential tenderpreneur and an embodiment of what appears to be at this stage profligate state spending.”

— Jeff Wixs

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  • Bonav Vista Learning Academy was registered as Moko Grill restaurant and operated under that name until weeks before the tender bid window closed in 2023.
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