Johannesburg,South Africa

ActionSA has written to Hawks seeking updates relating to the investigation of the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator's suspicious beauty pageant tender worth R4.5 million.

According to Thoko Mashiane ActionSA Mpumalanga Provincial Chairperson,ActionSA will,today,write to the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations(DPCI/"The Hawks") request an urgent update pertaining to the investigation into the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator(MER),after we reported the alleged corrupt sole unadvertised tender worth R4.5 million beauty pageant that was awarded to Mzimari Production since 2011.

Mashiane has no doubts that Mzimari Production has been receiving protection from corrupt ANC politicians for all these years.

She is very disappointed about the Hawks' pace to investigate the matter of beauty pageant contest tender.

"The Hawks is failing the people of Mpumalanga,and it cannot be tolerated that the matter was reported by our lawyers on the 27 March 2023,to date the Hawks has not interviewed or even subpoenaed any documentation related to the beauty contest contract,after we demanded progress report on the matter.

"A call for entries for the beauty contest has been circulated to aspired contestants,by the same Mzimari Production Company,"she said.

Mashiane maintained that the MER's main objective is to regulate the gambling and liquor industries in the province in terms of the relevant legislation;not the hosting of beauty contests for the enrichment of a single company for 12 years.

She is convinced to say that the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator did not abide its founding mandate by funding the beauty pageant contest.

"Further to this,the MER has not followed the relevant legislation in terms of Treasury Regulations,the Public Finance Management Act(PFMA) and the Supply Chain Management Act.

"We still call for the speedy investigation by the HAWKS to find out whether there is a comprehensive and relevant project feasibility study that has established a clear business case for the award of the beauty contest tender,"she continued.

She wants to see all those people who facilitated the process to grant the tender to Mzimari Production be held accountable.

"ActionSA want all those alleged to be part of this to be held to account forthwith- be it the CEOs and board members who must face consequences and should be jailed if the investigations confirm their alleged incompetence and complicity as far as the waste of taxpayer's money is concerned,"she concluded.