KwaZulu-Natal businessman Mduduzi Sithole has accused officials from the provincial transport department of terminating his R6m a month contract because he stopped paying them bribes.
Sithole, who owns Zululand Bus Service, was awarded a seven-year contract to provide public transport in Mtubatuba and Nseleni between 2016 and 2023 — without a tender process — and was then granted a five-year extension to 2028.
However, the relationship soured in November 2024 when the provincial transport department conducted an inspection at his depot and suspended his fleet for allegedly failing mechanical tests and not displaying valid licence discs.
According to an inspection report, 16 buses failed compliance checks despite being certified roadworthy by a private testing station in Mpumalanga. The report recommended authorities investigate why the Mpumalanga facility had waved through defects that were a “disaster waiting to happen”.
In January Sithole received a termination letter ending his contract, which had earned him more than R500m. The following month he sought an urgent interdict in the Durban high court to challenge the department’s decision to award the contract to a rival company, Ikhwezi Bus Service. Both parties agreed to arbitration, which is still under way.
He told the Sunday Times the problem was that he had stopped providing gifts and financial support — including cash drops of R25,000 a time — for two senior officials in the provincial transport department.
One of the officials, he said, had “pressured” him to provide free transport for political events, including ANC rallies and youth league gatherings.
The other officials said she was struggling financially, so in 2018 he gave her two buses. In June last year she returned one of the buses, Sithole said, and the other bus was destroyed in a fire.
“I challenged the matter in court because I didn’t agree with the inspection report failings,” Sithole told the Sunday Times.
“There was a concerted effort to get rid of me because I stopped the payments to the officials. I know it wasn’t right, but that’s the way they operate. You are expected to pay the bills and make the deposits. But in the end it became obvious when one of the officials was delaying my payments and fast-tracking invoices to my competitor that I was out,” he said.
“If there are consequences for the money paid to them, I’m prepared to accept this because I have exposed the corruption committed by the department officials.
“If this is about safety, I am prepared to have my vehicles retested, because I agree the safety of my passengers is important. I told the department I didn’t agree with their inspection report and asked them to come back, but they didn’t, and terminated my services.”
This is an attempt to smear the department and officials who are doing their work diligently
— Ndabezinhle Sibiya
He provided documents that apparently back up his claim that he had bribed the officials, whose names are known to the Sunday Times. They referred queries to the department’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya.
Sibiya said the contract had been terminated because Sithole is being probed for fraud relating to the roadworthy clearances from Mpumalanga.
“There are serious police investigations, others conducted in other provinces, in relation to fraud involving the service provider that has made these baseless allegations,” he said. “This is an attempt to smear the department and officials who are doing their work diligently.”
He said the department was within its rights to appoint an alternative operator if a service provider failed to deliver.
Sibiya said the department was acting to protect the interests of commuters.
Sithole, who has a fleet of 50 buses, said he still had four remaining contracts for scholar transport, but these might also be in jeopardy.
He said he had asked transport MEC Siboniso Duma and the office of premier Thami Ntuli to intervene. He had met investigators from the premier’s office and provided an affidavit. The premier’s office said it could not intervene in the arbitration process but would investigate allegations of corruption.
The spokesperson for the premier, Bongani Gina, did not respond to queries.
Attorneys for Ikhwezi, Suhail Hoosen and Zain Randeree, said the company denied any collusion with the department. “Our client understands that the department of transport and Mr Sithole have been embroiled in litigation. Our client is not privy to any further details in respect of such litigation.”
They said Ikhwezi denied receiving preferential treatment from the provincial transport department.
The provincial ANC did not respond to questions about Sithole’s allegations.
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