Taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni, president of the South African Local and Long-Distance Taxi and Bus Organisation, has conceded at the Madlanga commission that he received R2.29m from a subcontractor involved in a R3.7bn Moloto Road upgrade project in Mpumalanga for doing nothing. Sibanyoni, however, denied the extortion allegation against him, stating that he had entered into a partnership with Tengane Thomas Ntuli, who owns a company that supplied aggregate stone to the South African National Roads Agency’s (Sanral’s) R573 project.
Sibanyoni claimed that without him, as a resident of Kwaggafontein, Ntuli would not have won the tender. He stated that Ntuli needed to meet a “30% local content” requirement to get the tender from Sanral’s main contractor. However, he could not point the commission to a specific regulation that stipulates the 30% requirement. Commissioner Sesi Baloyi questioned Sibanyoni about the 30% local content, suggesting that it seemed to require locals in an area to provide services and get paid.
Sibanyoni accepted that he received R100,000 a month for merely entering into a “partnership” with Ntuli without providing any service to the company. Bathabile Ntuli, the director of the mining company, stated in an affidavit that payments made to Sibanyoni “were made under duress as we were fearing for our lives, taking into account the bad operation history of Mr Joe Sibanyoni in Kwaggafontein.” Bathabile claimed that it was a normal practice that “if you do not cooperate with his [Sibanyoni] demands, your life will be in danger.”
Despite Sibanyoni’s claims, there was no paper trail to prove his deal with Ntuli. Chief evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson questioned Sibanyoni about the lack of documentary evidence, suggesting that if the local share was a requirement of the contract, there would have to be some evidence of Sibanyoni’s interest in Tengane Ntuli. Sibanyoni responded that Ntuli had the responsibility to ensure such paper evidence to Sanral, not him.
Sibanyoni’s right-hand man, Oupa “Bafana” Sindane, made threats to stop Ntuli’s company’s operations when Ntuli did not pay. However, Sibanyoni denied that he instructed Sindane to make the threats, stating that he and Ntuli had a good relationship and that Sindane’s actions were merely “interference” in his partnership with Ntuli. Protection-fee syndicates have been growing in South Africa, with business organisations appealing to the police to intervene and protect entrepreneurs from demanding groups.
Sibanyoni also faced questions about his involvement in the payment of R250,000 in legal fees for a man convicted of a taxi violence murder. He denied personally making the payments, stating that he only facilitated payment of legal fees for Jabu Gwabu Mahlangu, which were paid for by a taxi association that Mahlangu’s dad used to operate under. Sibanyoni claimed that he was not involved in facilitating legal fee payments for his former driver, Tshegofatso Richmond “Morwa” Makofane.
The commission will continue with its public hearings on Wednesday. Sibanyoni faces criminal charges of extorting Ntuli, and his testimony has raised questions about the extent of his involvement in extortion and protection-fee syndicates. The Madlanga commission is investigating allegations of extortion and corruption in the taxi industry, and Sibanyoni’s testimony is a key part of the inquiry.
Key points
- Taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni received R2.29m for doing nothing in a R3.7bn road upgrade project.
- Sibanyoni denied extortion allegations, claiming he had a partnership with the subcontractor.
- The commission will continue with its public hearings on Wednesday.
