Madlanga Commission | Malatji blamed for irregular Gubis 85 site allocations

The Madlanga Commission has pointed to suspended Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) Asset Protection and Security Services (APSS) director, Tshukudu Malatji, as responsible for failing to act on the irregular allocation of additional ad hoc security sites to Gubis 85 Solutions.

During proceedings  on Thursday, Commissioner Sesi Baloyi described Malatji’s failure to reverse the allocations after becoming aware of them as “borderline intentional”.

Malatji told the commission he only became aware of Gubis 85’s involvement in December 2024, after the company complained about non-payment for services allegedly rendered to the City of Tshwane.

The private security company has come under scrutiny at the commission, with previous testimony indicating it received a disproportionate number of site allocations compared to other service providers.

Malatji said he was contacted by a company representative who claimed Gubis 85 had not been paid for seven months.

“I asked the caller as to which ad hoc services are you taking about? and how did it happen that you are involved in ad-hoc services and you do not get paid? Yet from where I am sitting every service provider involved in ad hoc services, which were processed procedurally and formally, are not complaining about payments because the ad hoc services are paid from the departments that requested those services,” said Malatji.

He said the caller indicated that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) had allegedly undertaken to ensure payment following the company’s deployment.

Malatji told the commission that after the caller threatened to escalate the matter to the city’s CFO, he offered to assist in resolving the issue.

He testified that after the matter was raised, he engaged with both the company and DWS between January and March 2025 in an attempt to resolve the issue.

Malatji maintained that he had not been consulted on the company’s deployment and later discovered that discussions and decisions regarding Gubis 85 had taken place at executive level without his knowledge.

Malatji further says he suspects some invoices submitted by service providers may not have been properly verified.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission on Thursday, Malatji said capacity constraints led to the negligence of several responsibilities, creating room for irregularities within TMPD.

Malatji told the commission that all approved service providers are given a schedule for submitting invoices.

He also raised concerns about possible irregularities in the invoicing process, suggesting that some invoices may not have been properly verified.

Malatji told the commission that administrative teams are responsible for verifying whether invoices correspond with allocated sites before they are submitted for certification.

He acknowledged that this raises the risk that payments may have been processed for services that were not fully verified.

Malatji further testified that capacity constraints within the APSS division contributed to lapses in oversight, creating conditions for irregularities.

He also revealed that the City of Tshwane is unable to secure all its assets, with only 674 out of approximately 1,000 municipal properties currently protected.

Of these, 547 are guarded by private security and 127 by in-house personnel, leaving a significant number of sites without protection due to budget constraints.

“Checking here, it indicates that 547 are guarded by private guards, commissioner, and 127 are guarded by in-house guards. So 600 and something assets of the city remain guarded to date,” said Malatji.

Malatji, who was suspended in July last year, said limited funding means only high-value sites receive 24-hour security coverage.

Malatji also explained that all municipal guards are monitored by teams from TMPD’s APSS division, which assess their performance while on duty and give feedback through inspection reports.

Meanwhile, embattled Tshwane CFO Gareth Mnisi’s legal team has requested a postponement of his testimony before the commission.

Mnisi briefly appeared to present reasons for the application, following allegations by suspended SAPS sergeant Fannie Nkosi that he colluded with certain TMPD officials.

The commission granted the request, with Mnisi expected to return to the witness stand on 17 April.

Written by: Odirile Rabalao