Sbu Ndebele has stepped down as SA's high commissioner to Australia amid corruption allegations regarding the extension of Tasima's contract to manage government's national vehicle registration database.
Business Day this morning reported the former transport minister quietly tendered his resignation to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation. The department will now process Ndebele's resignation, and then the presidency will be notified, said the newspaper.
Tasima is the company that runs the Electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis), which is the official register for all vehicles, driving licences, contraventions and accident data.
In May 2010, Tasima announced the Department of Transport (DOT) extended its public-private partnership by renewing its contract to manage, maintain and develop the system for another five years.
Ndebele is expected to appear in the Commercial Crimes Court in December, to face fraud and corruption charges for the alleged irregular extension of the Tasima contract.
Meanwhile, the DOT and Tasima continue to be locked in a legal battle about the transfer process of the eNatis system from the operator to the department.
Last December, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled there be no transfer of the eNatis system or services going forward, except in terms of a "transfer management plan" envisaged in the original turnkey agreement.
The SCA also ruled that a number of the respondents, including the minister of transport and the DOT, were in breach of various judgements handed down in other courts between 2012 and 2014. The DOT and Road Traffic Management Corporation were ordered to pay the costs of the appellant.
In April, the courts ordered the payment of R176 million to Tasima; however, the DOT did not make any payment by the specified date.
Last month, the DOT was dealt another blow when a High Court judge ordered the department to pay Tasima more than R33 million after it failed to comply with payment obligations.
Share