By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) General Manager Andile “Ace” Ngcobo and his wife, Salome have been granted bail by the Bellville Magistrate’s Court.
The pair appeared before the magistrate’s court this afternoon.
They are facing fraud and money laundering charges. The case relates to a multi-million rand tender for the construction of a school in the Eastern Cape in 2009.
The state is accusing the pair of embarking on a scheme to fraudulently acquire money from Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa SOC Limited (PetroSA) in a way that favoured them, their family members, and entities they had a vested interest in.
PetroSA ran a corporate social investment (CSI) programme that was responsible for administering and granting monetary donations to needy and disadvantaged schools, institutions or disaster management programmes.
The programme focused on education, health, community enhancement and/or environment.
During 2008, Gangatha Junior Secondary School, Eastern Cape, applied for a donation to build new classrooms with equipment and furniture, an administration block with equipment and furniture, ablution facilities, a science laboratory with equipment and furniture, a computer laboratory with equipment and furniture, develop the sports field and erect a security fence.
PetroSA agreed to donate R13m to rebuild the school. A King’s Gangatha Building Trust, unregistered, was established to facilitate the funding and rebuilding of the school.
Ngcobo oversaw and managed the construction, which started in November 2008 and was completed in September 2009. The school never authorised him to act as its representative or to be appointed as a project manager to oversee and manage the construction.
According to Hawks, Ngcobo and his wife used fake documents, invented organisations and laundered money through private accounts.
“They submitted proposals supported by forged trust deeds and donor documentation, creating a false impression that Gangatha Projects, a non-registered entity, was a legitimate channel for school development,” Hawks spokeswoman Zinzi Hani said.
“PetroSA, relying on these presentations, paid R13 million to Gangatha JSS. The trust deed associated with King’s Gangatha Building Trust was not registered, and the signatures were falsified.
NPA regional spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said PetroSA appointed quantity surveyors to assess the value of the services rendered when allegations of irregularities and fraud within the CSI department surfaced.
“The inspection revealed that products used, and the services rendered were of inferior quality and did not correspond with the amount of the donations made.
“The costs amounted to R5.9m inclusive of 14% Value Added Tax (Vat). It was established that it would cost PetroSA a further R398 363 inclusive of 14% Vat to remedy the defects.”
A second school project, also in 2008, in which Ngcobo’s wife was the “contact person” also came under scrutiny prompting PetroSA to lodge an internal investigation after discovering that their investment at the various schools and/or entities where the accused were involved did not yield the intended results.
“After a short bail application, he was granted bail of R50 000 and she was granted bail of R30 000. Their case was postponed until 29 May 2025 for further investigation,” Ntabazalila said.