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A former state accountant in the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport has been dismissed following a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation that uncovered corruption linked to the procurement of COVID-19 disinfection services during the pandemic.
The SIU announced that Jacob Bandile Ngcobo, who served as a State Accountant for Property and Facilities, was dismissed after investigators found he had an inappropriate and corrupt relationship with service provider Superia Services Trading. The company, owned by Tshidi Suzan Sedibe, had previously been appointed to provide pest control services in the Gert Sibande District before securing contracts to provide COVID-19 disinfection services. Between July 2020 and September 2021, the department paid the company more than R3.75 million for the work.
According to the SIU, financial analysis showed that shortly after Superia Services Trading received payments from the department, the company transferred R28,000 to Ngcobo through "cash send" transactions between August 2020 and March 2021. Investigators found that Ngcobo played a key role in selecting and appointing service providers for the disinfection contracts while failing to declare the financial benefit he received, creating a conflict of interest.
The SIU referred the matter to the National Prosecuting Authority in 2021, recommending criminal prosecution and disciplinary action against Ngcobo and five other officials. Ngcobo and Sedibe now face corruption charges in the Commercial Crimes Court in Mbombela. In July 2024, the Mpumalanga High Court also granted a preservation order freezing assets worth approximately R52.6 million linked to an alleged corruption network involving 22 officials, service providers and entities within the department. The investigation forms part of the SIU's wider probe into COVID-19 procurement under Proclamation R23 of 2020.
SIU Acting Head Leonard Lekgetho welcomed the dismissal, saying it demonstrated the importance of holding public officials accountable for abusing their positions. He said the outcome highlighted the value of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and government departments in protecting public funds and urged public institutions to act decisively on SIU recommendations to strengthen governance and combat corruption.