Umgeni Water, KwaZulu-Natal's largest bulk potable water supplier, has been engulfed in a decade-long corruption crisis involving systematic tender fraud, political patronage networks, and board-level conflicts of interest.

**June 2017: CEO Suspended for Corruption**

Umgeni Water Chief Executive Cyril Gamede was suspended following corruption allegations including tender rigging and jobs for associates. An anonymous email circulated to board members, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, the Public Protector, and the provincial police commissioner alleging impropriety. Gamede had headed Umgeni Water for nearly five years. The final outcome of the investigation was never publicly disclosed.

**December 2018: R220 Million Reshebile Aviation Scandal**

Umgeni Water awarded a R220 million three-year security tender to Reshebile Aviation and Protection Services without a competitive public tender process. The entity used "piggybacking" — a deviation mechanism strictly reserved for emergencies — to cancel its month-to-month contract with Excellerate Services and hand it to Reshebile without tender.

Reshebile's directors included ANC veteran Gertrude Shope, former presidential bodyguard Khanyisani Mazibuko, former Robben Island prisoner Paul Langa, and ANC stalwart John Nkadimeng. At the time of the tender award, Reshebile owed SARS R2.6 million in payroll taxes and R900,000 in VAT. National Treasury regulations forbid awarding tenders to tax non-compliant companies.

In July 2020, the Pietermaritzburg High Court declared the R220 million security tender **unlawful** after Excellerate Services successfully challenged the contract cancellation.

**2019-2022: SIU R1 Billion Investigation**

In February 2022, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) wrapped up a two-year investigation into corruption exceeding **R1 billion** at Umgeni Water. The SIU referred **57 individuals** to the National Prosecuting Authority for corruption, fraud, and money laundering, and **45 individuals and entities** to the Asset Forfeiture Unit to recover proceeds of crime.

The SIU's civil litigation unit instituted Special Tribunal proceedings to set aside **five contracts with a cumulative value of R328 million**, including: upgrades to emergency boreholes (R51M), repairs to Nagle Aqueduct (R57M), filter slab replacements (R65M), chlorine distribution equipment upgrades (R130M), emergency pipelines (R27M), control valve installation (R55M), and Nungwane pipeline installation (R80M).

The investigation covered infrastructure and IT procurement from 2017 onwards, including the R300 million social-facilitation contract and R87 million security assessment contract awarded to MPS Strategic Solutions, owned by murdered businessman Sibonelo Shinga. Whistleblowers alleged former CEO Thami Hlongwa benefited from a corrupt relationship with Shinga, including Shinga paying for Hlongwa's 50th birthday party at a Cape Town hotel. Shinga was murdered in February 2021; the Mail & Guardian described him as "Umgeni Water tender kingpin."

**2019/20: R713 Million Irregular Expenditure**

Despite receiving an unqualified audit opinion for the 2019/20 financial year, the Auditor-General identified **R713 million in irregular expenditure** during this period. By 2022/23, after Umgeni Water merged with Umhlathuze Water to form uMngeni-uThukela Water, cumulative irregular expenditure had ballooned to **R2.5 billion** (R1.9 billion carried forward from previous years plus R567 million incurred in 2022/23 alone).

**2023-2025: R7 Billion Chinese SOE Tender Fraud**

In August 2023, Umgeni Water issued a tender for Phase 2 of the Lower Umkhomazi Bulk Water Supply Scheme, a R7 billion major waterworks construction project. A joint venture between China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSC) and Base Major Construction submitted a bid of R5.2 billion, while Icon Construction bid R7 billion (R1.8 billion higher).

In October 2024, Icon Construction was awarded the contract despite being R1.8 billion more expensive. A forensic investigation by uMngeni-uThukela Water discovered **"material misrepresentations"** in the CSC/Base Major documentation. Specifically, an employee claimed to have worked for Base Major Construction from 2003 to 2019, but the company was only incorporated in South Africa in January 2007. Investigators concluded these were deliberate fabrications meant to bolster the bid.

In November 2024, Umgeni Water announced its intention to **restrict CSC for two years** from doing business with the state, citing fraudulent misrepresentations and concluding that both CSC and Base Major engaged in fraudulent activity.

CSC has a documented global corruption record: blacklisted by the World Bank in 2009 for collusive practices in the Philippines, debarred from World Bank-funded projects for six years, and excluded by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global in 2024 for "unacceptable risk of contributing to gross corruption."

CSC and Base Major filed a court application to interdict Icon Construction's contract implementation and to review and set aside the tender award. The Pietermaritzburg High Court issued a consent order interdicting Icon Construction from implementing the contract pending final determination. The R7 billion project remains on hold.

**November 2025: R390 Million Pipeline Board Member Scandal**

In November 2025, investigations revealed that uMngeni-uThukela Water paid **R390 million** for a pipeline project linked to board member Khanyisani Stanley Shandu, despite estimates showing it should have cost no more than **R80 million** — a R310 million overcharge representing a 388% markup.

The scandal was part of a broader governance crisis. The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation announced an investigation into governance concerns including the removal of the Chairperson, excessive board fees totaling **R2.6 million**, and **R200,000** spent on first-class travel for a staff member to attend the New York City Marathon.

Civil society groups including AfriForum demanded Shandu's resignation. The DA wrote to Minister Pemmy Majodina demanding a full investigation.

**Zero Criminal Accountability**

Despite the SIU referring 57 individuals to the NPA for prosecution in February 2022, **no prosecutions have been publicly announced** more than three years later. The R220 million Reshebile tender was declared unlawful by the High Court in 2020, but there is no evidence of funds recovered. The R328 million in contracts referred to the Special Tribunal remain in legal limbo with no public reporting on outcomes.

Multiple boards have been fired — most recently in March 2023 — but corruption continues unabated. The Auditor-General identified irregular expenditure that grew from R713 million (2019/20) to R2.5 billion (2022/23), yet accountability remains absent.

Umgeni Water represents a complete institutional failure: systematic procurement fraud, political patronage networks, board-level corruption, international tender manipulation by a World Bank-blacklisted Chinese SOE, and zero criminal consequences despite forensic evidence and prosecution referrals spanning a decade.