The controversial Construction Education and Training Authority’s (Ceta) Midrand, Johannesburg headquarters, the 2024 purchase of which was found to have been irregular, was concluded without the building having a working air conditioning system.
Despite previous claims by the now-ousted former Ceta CEO Malusi Shezi that the R49m building purchase was value for money, the Sunday Times has learnt that Ceta is now poised to spend a whopping R20m for the building to comply with Occupational Health and Safety requirements, including overhauling the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
This emerges as it is expected that the auditor-general, who will appear before parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education and training alongside Ceta later on Wednesday morning to discuss Ceta’s audit, will confirm its earlier finding that the purchase of the building was irregular.
The Sunday Times understands that despite a previous dispute with the AG over the findings, led on Ceta’s side by Shezi, acting CFO Sanele Radebe and Ceta spokesperson Lebogang Phasha, the Ceta audit has been finalised and is ready for presentation to parliament.
The height of the acrimony saw the officials accuse the AG’s senior audit team of unprofessionalism and engaging in “unfair audit practices”, and threatening to report the AG’s officials to National Treasury, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
But the Sunday Times can reveal that the AG upheld its finding that the purchase of the building is irregular as it did not follow proper procurement processes.
The AG found that the deviation from normal procurement processes undertaken by Ceta did not meet the criteria for urgency and was thus not in compliance with National Treasury prescripts.
Ceta had previously argued that the procurement was compliant as it was done through other means as allowed in Treasury instruction notes, adding the fact that then higher education minister Blade Nzimande had allowed the transaction under Section 54 of the Public Finance Management Act.
Shezi said before parliament that they were faced with an urgent situation because the previous owner of the building, from whom Ceta was renting, was selling and had given Ceta the first right of refusal. But all these reasons were dismissed by the AG, who found that they did not constitute urgency.
Shezi’s other argument that the building came at a saving, has also been undermined by revelations that Ceta’s administrator Oupa Nkoane has been asked by Radebe to allocate R20m for upgrades to make the building compliant.
The building is filthy, there is no air conditioning, and there are cables everywhere posing a safety hazard.
— Anonymous Ceta employee
The emergence of this new information suggests that Shezi may have led Ceta into buying a dud, which, in a little more than a year since being bought, requires a complete replacement of its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC), as well as plumbing and electrical repairs. This is on top of R3.5m that has already been spent on an incomplete project to install partitioning to create offices.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the situation say Nkoane has been sitting on a letter from Radebe, in which the latter says the HVAC system is a key health and safety concern.
A Ceta employee, speaking to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to the media, said it was clear that the building was “not worth the money spent on it”.
“The building is filthy, there is no air conditioning, and there are cables everywhere posing a safety hazard,” the employee said.
Another insider said: “This is one of many things that have been brought to his attention regarding how the old guard was operating.
“Another is the fact that Ceta has been paying rent of more than R70,000 per month for three years now for an office that is not being used in Cape Town.”
This Cape Town office rental was confirmed by documents, including internal emails between Ceta’s property management company Eris Property Group and Ceta officials, where concerns of waste are raised.
The 60-month contract was entered into in April 2022, and the rental has never been fitted for occupation, an example of waste that gripped the organisation.
“The landlord is reaching another year-end with your tenant installation not being finalised,” the June 2025 email read.
“It also just seems a bit of a shame that no fit-out has started in the leased premises and that Ceta is not making use of it as yet.
“Could be considered a bit of a waste for something that you are not using. Can we urgently have feedback on these matters,” the email concluded.
Wednesday will mark the first time Ceta appears before the committee since Shezi’s unceremonious exit from the organisation after it was placed under administration by higher education minister Buti Manamela.
Mr Shezi says the administrator (Oupa Nkoane) is in charge of the institution, so your questions should be directed to him, and he must explain to you why he accepted the report as is.
— Former Ceta CEO Malusi Shezi’s lawyer Rea Khoabane
Manamela made his announcement in August, following months of reports of governance failures, the hounding of whistleblowers and allegations of procurement irregularities. Shezi had previously attempted to have his removal overturned by the courts, but these efforts have thus far amounted to naught.
When contacted about the state of the building and the finalisation of the audit, Shezi’s lawyer Rea Khoabane said: “Mr Shezi says the administrator [Nkoane] is in charge of the institution, so your questions should be directed to him, and he must explain to you why he accepted the report as is.”
Ceta did not respond to questions sent on Tuesday afternoon.
At the time of the AG’s flagging of the transaction, Shezi made several public statements in which he defended the purchase, saying there were extenuating circumstances that warranted the Ceta to purchase the building outside of normal procurement processes.
One of these, he said at the time, was that the offer, made by the owner was just too good to pass up because they were getting the building at a premium. He also said the Ceta had embarked on the purchase to placate Nzimande’s demands that Ceta curb administration costs.
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