The guilty party, RI Mako Trading and Projects, and its director, Remosetlha Isaac Mako, were dragged to the Special Tribunal court after allegedly inflating the school transport money for transporting rural school pupils in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District. According to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, RI Mako Trading and Projects must pay back over R7 million and pay for the SIU’s legal costs. The business submitted invoices to the Department of Public Works, Roads, and Transport for the period 2010 to 2017, with inflated kilometres, and has therefore unduly accumulated millions of rands through the submission of inflated kilometres.

“Although Mr Mako denied allegations against him and his company, he did not dispute that he inflated the kilometres travelled as claimed and contended that they claimed for kilometres as verified by the department and were paid based on their invoices as approved by the department. The Special Tribunal's order is a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigation's outcome and consequence management to recover monies lost by the Department of Community Safety & Transport Management in the North West,” Kganyago adds.

“It is declared that the applicant's claims against the respondent have not become prescribed. The first respondent is to be deemed not to be a juristic person in respect of liability or obligation to the applicants arising from this judgment. The respondents are jointly and severally liable to make payment to the second applicant in the amount of R7 479 648.44, the one paying the other to be absolved. The respondents are ordered to pay the costs of this application jointly and severally, the one paying the other to be absolved on a punitive scale, inclusive of costs occasioned by the employment of counsel,” the Special Tribunal has ordered in its ruling.

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