Another water supply tender fraud in the Eastern Cape involving Amatola Water has been uncovered by the Hawks following a meticulous investigation. This case followed the same one that occurred recently, where East London base businesswoman Babalwa Afrika Ngwenze (42), the sole director of Liphundi Project (Pty) Ltd was apprehended by the Hawks on 24 April 2025. Babalwa allegedly misrepresented herself to get a tender of supplying water in Chris Hani areas, which made Amatola suffer a loss of R215 000. She is out on bail of R1000 and expected to appear before East London magistrate court again on 02 June 2025 for the case to be transferred to East London Regional Court. Ngwenze is facing allegations of fraud, forgery and uttering.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday 21 May 2025, investigators of the Hawks confirmed fraudulent misrepresentation, revealing that Amatola Water incurred a financial loss exceeding R234 000. This led to the arrest of Akhona Cokwana (44), director of ALX Consultant Company on 20 May 2025, and charged of fraud, forgery and uttering. He was granted a bail of R2000, while the matter has been remanded to 28 May 2025.
According to the Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Fumba, it is alleged that in 2020 the Development Section of Amatola Water issued a tender for the hiring of water tankers to deliver water to communities within Chris Hani District. Among the key requirements was proof of ownership of a licensed water tanker by prospective bidders.Meanwhile on 25 May 2020, a company allegedly misrepresented its eligibility by submitting a falsified vehicle registration certificate, fraudulently claiming ownership of a tanker. As a result of this deception, the company was unlawfully awarded the tender and went on to provide services under false pretences. Payments were subsequently made to the business based on the misrepresented credentials.
It is said that auditing processes at Amatola Water later raised concerns when discrepancies were detected, prompting a referral of the matter to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The case was later handed over to the Hawks for a full-scale investigation which resulted in the arrest of Cokwana
