‘Cat’ Matlala details ‘investment’ ties with tender tycoon Hangwani Maumela

Alleged cartel member Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala has told the Madlanga commission he and tender tycoon Hangwani Maumela invested money that they used for requests for quotations (RFQs) for government tenders and shared the spoils.

Matlala was answering questions related to his relationship with Maumela after attempting to use Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigations as an excuse to avoid responding to the commission.

He argued that he could be a suspect in the investigation by the SIU which was used to get an SIU Tribunal order for the freezing of Maumela’s assets. He also referenced media articles that claimed he was under investigation.

However, the commission showed Matlala that the evidence he submitted did not suggest he was a suspect, with him confirming that he had not been approached by an investigator in relation to this. He conceded that no investigator had approached him in the matter.

Maumela is linked to the Tembisa Hospital corruption scandal as the alleged head of a syndicate that irregularly secured more than R400m in fraudulent hospital contracts in which more than R2bn was stolen through dubious tender schemes by three syndicates.

The SIU traced 41 suppliers or service providers linked to Maumela; three of the companies that were awarded contracts to the value of R13.5m in this syndicate are linked to Matlala.

Matlala told the commission that he met Maumela around 2015 and they became friends due to their passion for sports cars.

“I used to like his car and he liked mine,” he said, adding that they used to meet at a restaurant in Sandton.

Matlala said in about 2018 and 2019 they started participating in business ventures in which they would share 10% of the profits of their investments.

Explaining their business model, Matlala said: “[When] me and Mr Maumela wanted to supply medical consumables to the department of health, we would approach someone who supplies consumables and tell them we would put money upfront in his account.

“Should I get the RFQ first, I would go to that supplier and request the stock for a certain amount of money and he would provide. Then after getting paid, I would return the money that I had invested,” he said.