Today's Labour News

News24 reports that two former Transnet executives accused of inflating the price of disposable breathalyser straws by more than 10,000% were granted R10,000 bail in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Palm Ridge on Tuesday.

The executives, Lerato Makenete and Hawkins Madubane appeared alongside their co-accused, Jacob Ramoyadi and Kenneth Rikhotso, who allegedly supplied the straws that came at highly inflated prices. According to the charge sheet, the original price per straw was 29 cents, but Transnet was charged R29.99 per straw, resulting in a payment of more than R33.8-million instead of R300,000. The charge sheet claimed the two executives were related to some of the officials, as some of the money paid by Transnet was traced back to the accounts of the officials. The companies owned by the two suppliers have also been charged. Their arrest follows an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which found that Makenete and Madubane allegedly conspired with three service providers to misuse Transnet's emergency procurement process during the Covid-19 pandemic. The third service provider has not been arrested. During their bail applications, Makenete and Madubane pleaded poverty, telling the court they had no money and relied on friends and family to make ends meet, including paying their legal fees. The pair also told the court that several legal cases, stemming from the same charge, had depleted their funds. A Special Tribunal hearing was ongoing and there was also a Labour Court case with Transnet.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at News24
• Lees ook, Oud-Transnet-hoës in hof oor bedrog, by Maroela Media

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