R800k tender awarded to 18-year-old

A KwaZulu-Natal company, run by an 18-year-old matric pupil, has won a municipal tender for nearly R800 000 to build a gravel road in a southern KZN town, raising eyebrows over the awarding of the contract. The company, ZDN Trading, which allegedly belongs to the mayor of the Ubuhlebezwe municipality at Ixopo, was awarded the tender by the Sisonke district municipality to build a gravel road near Highflats. Although Zamokwakhe David Nxumalo resigned as director of ZDN Trading in 2009, questions have been raised about his continued involvement in the business, which is now being run by his 18-year-old brother, Bheka Nxumalo, a matric pupil at Ixopo’s Little Flower Secondary School.

At the time the contract was awarded, Zamokwakhe Nxumalo, who is the treasurer of the ANC in the Harry Gwala region (Sisonke), was a councillor at the Ubuhlebezwe local municipality which falls under the Sisonke district municipality. He subsequently resigned from ZDN Trading in 2009 and handed over the reins to his other brother, Gilbert Nxumalo, a teacher who says he left the business to Bheka, who turned 18 in January. However, documents seen by The Mercury indicate that he continued to represent ZDN Trading at meetings involving the district municipality and also signed a tender register on behalf of the company.

The R800 000 tender was for the construction of a gravel road in Ngomakazi village, in Ubuhlebezwe. A source in the municipality, who asked not to be identified for fear of victimisation, said ZDN Trading was one of several businesses owned by Nxumalo’s family. “I’m really concerned about this because Nxumalo is practically in charge of the company,” said the source. Zamokwakhe Nxumalo acknowledged that he was the founder of the business but stressed he was no longer involved in it. However, documents in the possession of The Mercury show that he represented ZDN Trading and went on a site inspection with rival bidders for the road construction tender in 2010.

He also signed a site inspection register on that day. “There was nothing sinister about me representing the company. That company does not belong to me and I have got nothing to do with it,” said Nxumalo. “Does this mean that Khulubuse (President Jacob Zuma’s nephew) cannot do the business with the government because Zuma is the president?” he asked. Gilbert said it was he who had established the business in the early 1990s, but that Nxumalo had to manage it because he was busy with his studies at the time. “Now I have handed the business to Bheka because I now spend more time in Durban… My brother Zamokwakhe Nxumalo had nothing to do with the company any more,” said Gilbert.

A deed search by The Mercury indicated that the business was registered by Zamokwakhe David Nxumalo in July 2004 and that Gilbert Nxumalo became a director in May 2009. Sisonke district mayor Mluleki Ndobe, who is the ANC chairman in the Harry Gwala region, defended Nxumalo, saying he was “a victim of character assassination” by his political enemies. “There was nothing preventing the business from getting the tender since our treasurer had already resigned from the company,” said Ndobe. Sisonke municipal manager Nhlanhla Mabaso also denied that Nxumalo owned the company.