'Cat' Matlala next to face MPs over alleged police interference

CONTROVERSIAL tenderpreneur and attempted murder-accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who is currently in custody, is among several key witnesses lined up for this week’s Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee hearings. 

The hearings will take place at the Kgoši Mampuru Correctional Centre in Tshwane, Gauteng

“The hearings will take place at the Kgoši Mampuru Correctional Centre in Tshwane, Gauteng. In addition to Mr Matlala, the committee has resolved to hear from the SAPS’ Chief Financial Officer, and the Deputy National Commissioner for Policing, Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane,” the committee said in a statement. 

The committee was last week told that a former SAPS employee, who was involved in awarding the R360 million health services to Matlala’s firm, now works for the Medicare24 Contract Tshwane District owned by Matlala. 

SAPS Head of Supply Chain Management, Molefe Fani said he has no relationship with the former employee.

Asked if the action of the former employee was a sophisticated level of corruption, Fani said it appeared from a layman’s perspective to be questionable in terms of a person resigning while involved in awarding the tender and later working for the winning bidder.

“It is a red flag. It will require being probed, and we need to get to the bottom of that and make sure that if there is malpractice, that move is dealt with accordingly,” he said.

The inquiry heard that the audit on the contract, which was at the insistence of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, found that the company had a franchise agreement with another company, with whom it shared the same business address.

The franchise agreement was not signed by the franchisee and could not be relied on at the time of the bidding.

The audit also found that the tender was awarded without conducting due diligence despite reports implicating Matlala in the R2 billion Tembisa Hospital looting spree.

However, Fani said there was nothing material to stop the awarding of the R360 million health risk management contract.

This was despite National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola being contacted by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) while the tender was being adjudicated around May 2024, warning that there was a company linked to Matlala that was bidding for the contract.

IDAC had informed Masemola that Matlala’s company did not have a tax clearance certificate, had been blacklisted, and was involved in the Tembisa Hospital R2 billion looting spree.

Fani, who chairs the BAC, said he did not know of any concerns raised by IDAC, and none of the committee members made declarations with the contract.

“As I said earlier, I had no knowledge of Vusimuzi Matlala. I may have heard in the news that there are issues at Tembisa (hospital), but for me personally and probably for the members of the committee, for us to link him at that time to Tembisa did not happen,” he said.

He stated that neither Matlala nor his company was restricted from doing business when they awarded the tender.

Cape Times