Former KZN agriculture official says the department is ‘corrupt to the core’

By Celani Sikhakhane

• Former KZN agriculture MEC Themba Mthembu says farming companies captured the department and forced out any official who fought them.

• Seven MECs failed to complete their terms and a former head of department was arrested for R5-million fraud in KZN.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is captured by farming companies that force out any official who tries to fight corruption, former MEC Themba Mthembu says.

Mthembu made the claims in an interview on the Open Floor SA Podcast. He said the department had been turned into a place where political leaders are set up to fail.

“I tried to fight corruption in that department and by doing that I touched the untouchable. That is why I never finished my term,” he said.

Mthembu said the department was “captured by the farming corporate” and that employees work with farming companies to steal its resources.

“That department is corrupt to the core,” he said. “If you dare to touch them, you are gone.”

He pointed to former MEC Cyril Xaba, now the mayor of eThekwini, as another official who did not finish his term.

Seven MECs have not finished their terms at the department. They are Prof Gabriel Ndabandaba, Dr Meshack Radebe, Mthembu, Xaba, Narend Singh, Mtholephi Mthimkhulu and Dumisani Makhaye.

The department has also faced fraud cases. Former head of department Dr Siphiwe Mkhize was arrested in 2020 for a R5-million fraud involving bribes for contracts.

Mkhize was later charged for approving drought relief payments for goods that were never delivered. Officials also worked with service providers to inflate invoices, costing the department millions of rands.

In one case, more than R45-million was spent on seed potatoes but only a fraction was delivered. Tractors were also stolen.

Pictured above: Former KZN MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Themba Mthembu.

Image source: KZN Department of Agriculture