The Democratic Alliance in the City of Tshwane has announced it will submit detailed submissions to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, providing information on alleged corruption and tender irregularities in the metro.
This follows damning testimony at the commission that has implicated multiple political parties in suspected tender rigging, particularly around security services contracts.
DA Tshwane mayoral candidate and caucus leader Cilliers Brink said the party has consistently raised concerns over the past year about two major areas of expenditure: water tankering contractors and security companies. He noted that significant budgets were redirected from core infrastructure services — including water, electricity, and waste collection — to these contractors.
Brink highlighted links involving senior ANC figures. Deputy Mayor and Finance MMC Eugene Modise (also referred to as Modis or Bonzo Modise), who is the ANC regional chairperson in Tshwane, has an undeclared interest in a security company providing services to the city, according to the DA. Internal investigations confirmed he resigned as a director of Triotic Protection Services but did not divest his beneficial interest or shareholding.
The company is alleged to receive around R3 million per month from the city for guarding services at multiple municipal sites. Modise has claimed he sold the company and detached himself from it, but the DA pointed out he has failed to produce documentary proof, such as a sale of shares agreement or instalment sales agreement.
Brink said the Sunday Times has also reported links between the ANC regional treasurer in Tshwane and a water tankering company.
Testimony at the Madlanga Commission has presented clear documentary evidence implicating not only the ANC but also the EFF and ActionSA in tender rigging related to security services. Brink stated that names and companies mentioned during hearings “rang bells” with information the DA had already uncovered, and the party believes it is important to place this before the commission. Some of the information has already been reported to the police, with investigators to determine its relevance.
On the ANC specifically, Brink questioned why Modise continues to preside over the finance portfolio despite the allegations and the cloud of doubt hanging over him. In contrast, Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya (ActionSA) has suspended MMC for Corporate and Shared Services Kholofelo Morodi (also from ActionSA) after her name was mentioned at the commission. Brink welcomed this action but criticised the lack of similar steps against Modise, noting that only the council can remove the deputy mayor. He argued that Moya could, however, remove Modise from the finance portfolio.
Brink suggested Moya, described as the political junior in her own coalition government, lacks the political muscle or courage to act against Modise because he is a powerful ANC regional chairperson. He claimed Modise is protected by the current coalition of the ANC, EFF, and ActionSA, and that Moya may fear repercussions from her coalition partners.
Regarding the EFF’s alleged involvement, Brink referred to testimony involving messages on the phone of Sergeant Fannie Nkosi (described as not a very credible witness, but whose phone records are clear). These messages allegedly show correspondence with the city’s CFO and the deputy chief of the metro police about obtaining approval from “the CIC (Guju)” — understood to refer to EFF leader Julius Malema — for the inclusion of certain companies in a security services tender. Brink called such political interference in the tender process completely inappropriate and indicative of tender rigging. He said the EFF leader must answer for himself.
Brink also addressed questions about the DA’s own record when it previously ran the Tshwane municipality, during which allegations of a “water tanker mafia” emerged. He said the DA implemented new standards for waste removal and water tankering contractors, including strict requirements for handling water (especially after the Hammanskraal cholera crisis), and tight controls on invoice payments to prevent fraud. Invoices had to be matched to purchase orders.
Under the DA administration, spending on water tankers was R140 million in its last full year, mostly in the contaminated Hammanskraal area. After the ANC, ActionSA, and EFF coalition took over, that spending reportedly surged to R777 million in the following financial year, with many invoices allegedly paid without matching purchase orders. Brink claimed this opened the “sluice gates” of payments, benefiting some significant ANC leaders.
The DA intends to formally submit its evidence to the Madlanga Commission in the coming days. The commission’s investigators will ultimately decide on the relevance and next steps in the ongoing inquiry into alleged corruption in the City of Tshwane.