Misizwe Zulu was at the centre of an irregular R290 million electrification project in the Msunduzi local municipality in 2012 in which his company, TNT Technology Solutions, was overpaid by R100 million.
Misizwe Ndabuko Zulu, who was sworn in as mayor of the Amajuba district municipality in December afterVuyiswa Bam was recalled by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) over the alleged involvement of her son in appointing contractors for a R46 million water project, has skeletons in his own cupboard.
But four years after criminal charges were to have been opened against him, Zulu has faced no sanction and opposition councillors at Msunduzi are angry about the lack of consequence management.
Zulu was at the centre of an irregular R290 million electrification project in the Msunduzi local municipality in 2012 in which his company, TNT Technology Solutions, was overpaid by R100 million.
In 2019, the Independent Development Trust (IDT) said it had laid criminal charges against Zulu, then a director at TNT, over the contract, which was awarded on the basis of a forged IDT appointment letter.
Separate forensic investigations appointed by the IDT and the KwaZulu-Natal cooperative government and traditional affairs department into the project to upgrade electrical infrastructure found that TNT had been irregularly appointed and paid for work they had not done.
At the time the IDT said it had referred the matter for civil action to recover R100 million from Zulu — who invested R641 000 in the luxury Desroches Hotel in Margate on the South Coast and bought a golf estate and several luxury coastal properties.
The IDT said that TNT was paid more than R71 million for work it did not do and overcharged by another R28.7 million for management and business generation fees it claimed for the 35 electrical projects, of which only seven were completed.
IDT spokesperson Phasha Makgolane said at the time the trust was pursuing criminal charges against TNT and its directors, as recommended by Gobodo Inc, the forensic auditors it had appointed. The IDT was also moving to recover the money.
He said the IDT had obtained a judgment against TNT, but “could not find sufficient assets to satisfy the judgment amount as TNT is now liquidated”.
“The IDT has instituted civil actions against the directors or members of the TNT project to recover the overcharges on management fees and work not done. The IDT is also pursuing criminal charges against TNT and directors,” Makgolane said.
But, four years later, no arrest has been made or confiscation order granted against Zulu, or against former mayor Chris Ndlela and former municipal manager Mxolisi Nkosi, both of whom were allegedly paid bribes to facilitate the irregular contract.
Misizwe Ndabuko Zulu. (Twitter/ @@misizwe)
The money has not been recovered.
The province’s cooperative government and traditional affairs department fired Nkosi but he was then sent to the Umkhanyakude district municipality — where he was suspended in 2021.
In August, Msundusi councillors were told that the municipality had served summons on the IDT for failing to take action and to recover a total of R108 million of the R290 million the city had invested in the failed projects.
The lack of consequence management has angered opposition councillors at Msunduzi, who asked that the city management provide them with an accurate update on what action had been taken — and what still needed to be done — to get the city’s money back.
While Zulu had historically been close to the ANC, it is understood that he became an IFP councillor at Amajuba — which consists of the Dannhauser, Newcastle and Emadlageni local municipalities — in November 2021.
It is not clear whether the IFP — which is battling to keep control of Amajuba and other municipalities after the Economic Freedom Fighters withdrew from their coalition — is aware of the mayor’s troubled history.
IFP national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa did not respond to questions about Zulu, who has previously pleaded innocence in the TNT saga, saying in 2019 that he was merely an employee who lost his job after TNT was closed down.
Zulu was also a respondent in a high court action brought by the developer and former owner of the Desroches, Guy Papazoglou and his wife Lorinda, who claimed that he had failed to pay them R13 million for units he had purchased in the hotel.
The couple went to court to have the sale of the hotel set aside on the grounds that they had not been paid and to prevent Zulu from selling assets to avoid the liquidators. The hotel was liquidated in 2016 and is now standing empty,
Papazoglou said in an affidavit in the case, which was taken off the roll in 2016, that Zulu had purchased units in the hotel through the Mageba Trust to “disguise” that he was insolvent at the time.
Papazoglou said Zulu had introduced himself as a prince and member of the Zulu monarchy, using the title HRH in his correspondence, and had made “considerable effort” to drop politically connected names.
“He was keen to own a stake in the businesses as he was well placed and had many business connections which he would be able to persuade to use our hotel, Desroches Hotel Margate, for business functions and accommodation,” Papazoglou said.
“At the time, our hotel was the only four-star-graded hotel in the Margate area, thus making it very appealing to government departments for exclusive conferences who required above average accommodation and amenities.”
Papazoglou said once the deal had been signed, Zulu had reneged on further payments of R13 million and had started selling off units in the hotel, which was subsequently liquidated because of debt.
In his papers, Zulu said that Papazoglou had acted “improperly” during the transaction and had accused them of failing to disclose liabilities they carried and of “leaving a trail of debts” behind them.
Zulu told the Mail & Guardian this week that he had been an employee of TNT and not a director.
“I was working for TNT. I never owned the company. I am not aware of any case and no one has contacted me,” he said.
Turning to the Desroches matter, Zulu said that his attorney “has not received papers” and that “I don’t have a court date”.
Zulu said it was “not correct” that he had bought Desroches while insolvent, adding: “I assisted Desroches in getting a bond.”
He added that he was not currently insolvent and that “I can not recall being involved in business in the past five years”.
Zulu said he had not informed the IFP or the district municipality about his past, arguing that “there is no need as they are not relevant in the work I do. The constitution of my party says nothing regarding [the TNT and Desroches matters]”.
“I am aware we are going to elections now. Things such as this will crop up now and then,” he added.
Msunduzi municipal manager Lulamile Mapholoba, who was appointed last October, said the matter had been allowed to drag on for too long and that the council was now moving to resolve it.
Mapholoba said they had been “meticulous” in dealing with how to recover the money and had laid criminal charges with the police.
The city had written to the IDT and to the new public works minister Sihle Zikalala to try and resolve the dispute with the IDT out of court.
“We are attempting to resolve the matter within the framework laid out by the intergovenmental grant systems, rather than taking another organ of state to court,” Mapholoba said.
*This article has been updated to reflect comment from the Msunduzi municipal manager