SIU To Probe R57m Unfinished Mdantsane Pool As Scrutiny Widens Over Buffalo City Metro Projects

An Olympic-size swimming pool that remains unfinished after Buffalo City Metro spent R57million on it is among six projects that are going to be investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) following a proclamation recently signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The presidential proclamation, signed on Friday but announced yesterday, expands scrutiny of the troubled project, which has been under construction for almost a decade now. Political and council leaders yesterday welcomed the move by the President.

Through this Proclamation 350 of 2026, Ramaphosa effectively authorises the SIU to investigate allegations of serious maladministration, improper or unlawful conduct, and the unlawful expenditure of public money involving both the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency (BCMDA).

The SIU will investigate procurement and contracting relating to the swimming pool, as well as five other BCM and BCMDA matters. These include the appointment of First New Generation Trading (Pty) Ltd for the demolition of existing walls; the appointment of Lefito Trading, trading as Kuyasa Electrical Contractors, for the removal of the Donkin wall and installation of palisades; consulting engineer services for the Water World Project; and the appointment of the main contractor for the Water World Project.

The investigation covers the municipality’s conduct in relation to these projects from 1 January 2016 to 18 September 2026. The SIU is mandated to identify any financial losses suffered by the state or affected institutions and, where appropriate, take steps to recover those losses. It can also refer evidence of criminal conduct uncovered during the investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority.

The proclamation follows a damning Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) report into the pool project, tabled during a special council sitting in April last year, which found serious failures in planning, execution and oversight.

The MPAC report was released shortly after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), led by chairperson Songezo Zibi, conducted an oversight visit to Buffalo City and sounded the alarm after hearing that the Speaker of Council, Humphrey Maxegwana, then chief whip Mike Basopu and Mayor Princess Faku had on more than one occasion quashed damning reports relating to the projects. They could not provide convincing reasons why that was the case, leading to what Zibi called a culture of impunity and procurement malfeasance.

At the time SCOPA promised to refer some of its oversight findings to the SIU to investigate and potentially recover money from service providers and staff. The oversight body described the incomplete Mdantsane swimming pool as one of the “most egregious examples of years of mismanagement, malfeasance, and possible fraud and corruption”.

Construction on the pool started in 2017, with an initial budget of R22-million for Phase 1. The project ran into delays and costs escalated to R57-million.

The plan was to complete the main pool before constructing a diving pool in Phase 2. According to the MPAC investigation, poor planning resulted in blasting for the diving pool taking place after the main pool had already been built, causing major structural damage.

In August 2024, members of the municipality’s MPAC visited the pool and found structural defects, poor planning and financial irregularities. “Blasting activities had compromised the integrity of the main pool, which now had major cracks and was deemed unusable. These blasts intended for the second phase should have preceded the pool’s construction, not followed it,” MPAC found.

Despite the problems, the Directorate of Sports, Recreation and Community Development continued to mislead the council with reports that the project was nearing completion. But auditing firm Ernst & Young, which was commissioned to conduct an investigation following negative publicity over the project’s escalating costs despite limited progress, found that there were numerous problems, including “the absence of feasibility studies, improper sequencing of project phases, a lack of detailed cost breakdowns, and no risk mitigation strategies”.

The report said these failures resulted in flawed execution, wasted public funds and a failure to meet the community’s expectations.

Zibi last night welcomed the presidential proclamation, which formally places the swimming pool and other projects within the SIU’s investigative mandate. “These are the same matters we looked into when we were conducting oversight,” said Zibi. He added that SCOPA already has a memorandum of understanding with the SIU which: “effectively (makes them) the forensic investigating arm of the committee. When we feel that an authority such as the metro is not taking strong enough action, is not taking action against individuals and so on, we can send in the SIU."

Zibi said the SIU proclamation was collaborative work between SCOPA and the SIU, and that more proclamations were coming.

The City's leadership yesterday warmly welcomed the proclamation. Luzuko Buku, speaking on behalf of the Metro, said: "It should be noted that long before this presidential proclamation, our current municipal leadership took decisive action, refusing to turn a blind eye to the past by proactively investigating these projects. As a result, the projects that are covered in the proclamation are already being investigated by the municipality, with some officials charged, while others are on precautionary suspension."

DA Buffalo City councillor Anathi Majeke, who is also the party whip and an MPAC member, welcomed the president’s authorisation of the SIU investigation. “As the DA we view the president’s authorisation for the Special Investigating Unit to probe the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality over six controversial tenders, including the Mdantsane NU2 Swimming Pool and the Water World project, as a welcome and necessary step that is long overdue,” said Majeke.

Majeke said that if the SIU established corruption and maladministration, those responsible should face criminal referrals to the National Prosecuting Authority, while culpable companies should be considered for blacklisting and civil proceedings should be pursued to recover public funds.

The NU2 pool had existed for decades but was shut down in the 1980s because of disrepair. From 2009, the municipality began discussions to restore the Olympic-size pool, with plans for swimming lessons and diving facilities. The plans gained momentum in 2010 with the launch of the Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme.

While noting and welcoming the proclamation, the United Democratic Movement called for the SUI to be allowed to do their work without any interference. "Anyone found to have acted unlawfully must be held to account, and stolen public money must be recovered. These projects were meant to serve our communities, yet residents of Mdantsane, Duncan Village, and Scenery Park still wait for reliable services. Buffalo City has been governed by the ANC for decades. This is not the first time the metro has been shaken by allegations of looting," said Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, the party's mayoral candidate for BCM.