5 Free State officials in court for corruption
Five current and former Free State government officials have appeared in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering totalling more than R245 million.
The five officials, which include a former head of a department and a retired official from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development officials, were granted R10 000 bail each.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Sipho Ngwema says the allegations are in connection with a company called Rekgonne Community Projects, which had a contract with the department.
The discovery was made during investigations linked to the Estina dairy farm case.
“It is alleged that they gave a number of contracts to a company called Superior Quality Trading, which also trade as Rekgonne Community Projects, even though this company did not attend compulsory briefing sessions,” says Ngwema.
LISTEN TO SIPHO NGWEMA HERE:
“The company also had a certificate of attendance even though it was not present at the compulsory briefing where these certificates were issued. The department is said to have paid more than R756m to the company.”
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