An ANC MPL and her business partner allegedly secured a contract for a Pretoria businesswoman to accommodate 121 Gauteng crime prevention wardens in her guest house in exchange for what two estranged associates claim was a “kickback”.
Suzette Lerm, owner of Pumulani Lodge in Kameeldrift, allegedly landed the deal through Vhutshilo “Theo” Muthurana and his business partner, Gauteng provincial legislature member Refilwe Mogale, after they visited her lodge on February 7.
Affidavits by Jacobus Swart and his wife Dedre Delport, who were involved in running Pumulani Lodge with Lerm, allege she would have needed to pay a “kickback” of R50 per warden per day, or R544,500. It is unclear whether this money ever changed hands.
Mogale and Muthurana co-own two companies together. Muthurana is also a business partner of Lerm, with whom he co-owns another Pretoria guest house.
While Mogale denies asking for a kickback, her presence at the meeting as a public representative could be seen as an abuse of authority, an offence in terms of the Prevention & Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. Muthurana said “no comment” when told about the affidavits.
Swart and Delport — who fell out with Lerm over an unrelated matter — deposed the affidavits when seeking a protection order against Lerm, whom they claim is harassing them. The same affidavits were attached to another protection order sought against her by a creditor, which was granted by the Pretoria magistrate’s court last month.
Theo then wanted to know what he would get out of the deal, and at the same time told me he and his partner would expect R50 per person per night kickback
— Jacobus Swart
In May, the Gauteng provincial government announced that the first 3,000 crime prevention wardens, known as “amaPanyaza” after premier Panyaza Lesufi, who launched the initiative to bring down crime, had completed training.
Swart and Delport allege that the day after Mogale and Muthurana’s visit, they saw a quote Lerm created for R2.45m, addressed to and sent to Muthurana.
Swart’s affidavit states: “In February, two people by the name of Theo and Refilwe visited Pumulani Lodge and told myself and my wife they were seeking accommodation in the area for 3,000 people to be trained as wardens. They enquired as to how many of these trainees we could accommodate at Pumulani Lodge. I showed them the available rooms.”
Swart and Delport allege that Muthurana introduced himself as a representative of a company called Farmworths Infranco and said his business partner, “Refilwe”, was in the government.
“We agreed that we could accommodate 80 people at R200 per night per person for 90 days. Theo then wanted to know what he would get out of the deal, and at the same time told me he and his partner would expect R50 per person per night kickback which would ensure their business,” the affidavit states.
Swart told the Sunday Times that during Muthurana and Mogale’s visit, Lerm phoned Delport to ask “about the inquiry by Theo and Refilwe”.
A WhatsApp message Swart sent to Lerm that day says: “They can pay R200 per person… that means that we will have to put extra beds in the rooms. Also, we’ll be converting the conference room into sleeping quarters. That was the price of R200 per person.”
Swart told the Sunday Times: “The day after the visit by Theo and Refilwe I saw a quotation issued to Farmworths Infranco for the amount of R250 per person per night for 121 people. The quotation was for accommodation for the same trainees as inquired by Theo and Refilwe. The total amount quoted for the accommodation of 121 people was R2,450,250.”
The Sunday Times has seen the quote sent to Muthurana and his company at his e-mail address.
The trainees arrived on February 9.
Muthurana is listed as an active director of 31 companies. Asked for comment, he claimed he was a farmer who had nothing to do with tenders.
“I’m not a government employee. No-one awarded me a tender. I don’t deal with tenders. I don’t have comment over anything. Let me stop there,” he said. Asked about the kickback allegation, Muthurana said: “No comment.”
He referred the Sunday Times to Mopani Lodge owner Solani Mthethwa, who was awarded a R350m tender to accommodate 3,000 wardens for three months.
Asked why she accompanied Muthurana to Pumulani Lodge, Mogale said she was helping Mthethwa find accommodation for some of the wardens.
“The role that I played, because I’m staying in this area, was to assist [Mthethwa] with areas that I know that can accommodate some of those wardens. I gave [Mthethwa] the contact numbers of Pumulani and the two of them, I don’t know what they did,” she said.
“I even gave Solani a list including Pumulani to say if you need accommodation, these are the lodges that are near you, they can assist. That’s all I did.
“I didn’t approach Pumulani only, it was a whole lot of the lodges in that area, and I gave [Mthethwa] the whole lot and said you can negotiate with these people to assist you with accommodation, that’s all I did.”
I’m not a government employee. No-one awarded me a tender. I don’t deal with tenders. I don’t have comment over anything. Let me stop there
— Vhutshilo Muthurana
Asked what she discussed with Swart and Delport during the visit, Mogale said: “I just told them there is this issue of accommodation that is needed by Solani and they said they know Solani, and I said I think they must communicate with her because I think she needs accommodation for wardens, that’s all that I said.”
Asked whether she or Muthurana asked for a kickback, Mogale said: “No, not me. If really they are honest with you, they would tell you I’ve never had any other meetings than that other one where I requested the number of beds.”
However, Mthethwa said she had never heard of Muthurana or Mogale and that they did not represent her, and that she negotiated with Lerm directly.
“I don’t know those people [Mogale and Muthurana]. I know the owner of Pumulani. They had not more than 200 wardens who went to Pumulani. They were … [there for] less than a week,” she said. The Sunday Times was unable to independently verify how long they stayed.
Mthethwa said she knew Lerm as the “general manager” of lodges in the Dinokeng area. She and Lerm are both registered as directors of the Dinokeng Tourism Organisation.
“I did not subcontract. We had rain, it was rainy season, and some of the people were put there for a week while I was finalising my accommodation,” she said.
Asked whether Pumulani was paid R2.45m, Mthethwa said: “It wouldn’t even have been a million. I asked [Lerm] to host for the dates that I requested and then I paid her.”
Mthethwa did not respond to follow-up questions about how much she paid Lerm.
Lerm refused to answer questions. “Go back to your sources,” she said, before cutting the call. She did not respond to written questions.
Thamsanqa Makamba, acting secretary to the Gauteng Legislature, said: “Members of the Legislature are allowed to own businesses and to declare them with the Legislature. They are, however, prohibited from doing business with the State. In instances where members own businesses, they are required to declare their businesses with the Legislature.”
He said members of the legislature were not requested to source accommodation for the warders
The Gauteng department of community safety said the tender was awarded to Mthethwa’s business, Solani Accountants, and it was not aware of or involved in any subcontracting arrangements.
In a statement it said that according to its contract, it paid R694 per person per day “for the duration of the accommodation period”. It said it wanted to assure the public “control measures [were] in place to ensure that ethical procedures are followed to carry out the procurement process”.
“The department through the Provincial Risk & Integrity Unit is responsible for ensuring that corrupt elements are investigated and that anyone who is found guilty faces the full might of the law.”
This is not Lerm’s first brush with controversy; 16 years ago she was charged alongside her ex-husband, Jacobus “Japie” Lerm, with stealing R77m from the City of Tshwane’s department of community safety, where he was a senior manager.
Japie Lerm pleaded guilty to nearly 1,000 charges of fraud and corruption and was sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment in 2018. He was released after serving only two years, said correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.
Lumka Mahanjana, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority in Gauteng North, said the charges against Suzette Lerm were provisionally withdrawn after representations were submitted to the state. “Upon consideration… the matter against [her] was not re-enrolled as there was no reasonable prospect of successful prosecution.”
When the Sunday Times visited Japie Lerm’s home in Kuilsriver, Cape Town, his daughter said he was away. He did not respond to questions.
Affidavits forming part of the Special Investigating Unit’s case against the Lerms allege the couple were involved in a scheme by which they set up BEE front companies that received tenders on an emergency basis. Among them was Central High Trading, of which Suzette Lerm was a director, and which received R21m stolen from the City of Tshwane.
The NPA said it had been unable to seize any of the stolen money or the assets it was spent on. Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo said the City of Tshwane investigation had been closed.
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