Pule Mabe refutes claims his company lacked needed expertise when awarded R27m tender
Mabe and six alleged accomplices appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on Wednesday, facing charges of fraud and money laundering.
Former African National Congress spokesperson Pule Mabe has stepped aside from the party’s National Executive Committee following fraud and corruption charges. Picture: EWN/ Katlego Jiyane
JOHANNESBURG - Former African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson Pule Mabe has refuted claims that his company lacked the necessary expertise when it was awarded a multi-million rand tender.
The State, in his corruption case, alleges that his company did not meet certain requirements set for the contracts.
Mabe and six alleged accomplices appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court on Wednesday, facing charges of fraud and money laundering.
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It is alleged that his company, Enviromobi, was improperly awarded the R27 million tender in 2017.
The company was registered in 2009 and underwent several name changes between the date of its registration and 2017.
The state said when the company was awarded the tender, it was listed as a company providing accommodation, food and beverage services.
While prosecutors told the court that the company had no experience in the waste management field, Mabe said this was simply not true.
"How can a company that had already concluded a five-year arrangement of the same project out in the Free State not have experience to do the work? But how can a company that housed the innovator of that which they were implementing not have experience?"
Mabe’s legal team told the court that they are more than prepared to prove the state’s allegations are baseless.