Tshwane’s RDP water‑tanker scandal: Millions allegedly paid without tankers
An RDP homeowner gets R95m Tshwane water payment but has no tankers to her name.
The City of Tshwane’s water‑tanker programme has come under renewed scrutiny after revelations that an RDP homeowner allegedly received nearly R100 million in water payments despite having no tankers registered in her name.
Nomakhuwa Trading and Projects, an obscure company run by sole director Eunice Nontobeko Mkhonza, was allegedly paid R95 million in 2025 to transport water despite lacking the infrastructure to deliver services at that scale, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
No water tankers
Mkhonza lives in a modest RDP house in Soshanguve, where her company is registered.
Records show Nomakhuwa allegedly owns only five medium‑duty trucks, not water tankers, and there was no evidence of depots, storage facilities, or operational systems required for large‑scale water delivery.
Delivering water at this scale typically requires reservoirs, secured vehicle yards, fuel and maintenance arrangements, trained drivers, dispatch systems, and compliance documentation relating to water quality and safety.
Contract
In the absence of such infrastructure, it is unclear how Nomakhuwa could have executed the contract, raising questions about whether Mkhonza operated a legitimate business or merely functioned as a billing front.
The investigation suggests Mkhonza may have acted as a proxy for more powerful figures in Tshwane’s lucrative tanker economy. Her brother, Mandla Jeffrey Mgcina, runs Ivoline Trading Enterprise, which received R5.5m in the same year and owns a depot with a dozen tankers.
Madlanga Commission
Mgcina has been linked to the Madlanga commission probing corruption and organised crime, where he was identified as the nephew of taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni.
Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson revealed that Mgcina was mentioned alongside Tshwane’s chief financial officer, Gareth Mnisi, in connection with a R59m payment made to a security company, Gubis85 Solutions.
No accusations of wrongdoing have been levelled against Sibanyoni at the commission, but his name featured repeatedly in evidence concerning irregular and questionable security payments in Tshwane.
Concerns
Concerns have surfaced about a troubling intersection between the taxi industry and the city’s tender system, with allegations that politically connected figures have exploited municipal contracts for personal gain.
Nomakhuwa is one of about 40 companies paid a combined R777m by Tshwane for water trucking in 2025, though the city disputes the figure, citing verified payments of R621m. Other firms, including Grab Assets Solutions and Best Enough Trading and Projects, also received tens of millions despite lacking tankers.
Data from eNatis shows that the intriguingly named company, whose registered address is Swartdam, a small rural community near Soshanguve on the border with North West, has nine Landini Solis tractors and two medium-duty freight trucks.
ANC figures
Senior ANC figures, including deputy mayor Eugene “Bonzo” Modise and regional treasurer James Shelenge, have been allegedly linked to these payments.
Shelenge reportedly spent R11m on luxury cars and property soon after his company was paid R30m.
The Citizen has contacted the City of Tshwane for comment. This will be included in the story once received.
Allegations
In March, The Citizen reported that Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya, the ANC, and the EFF had yet to comment on the latest allegations about Modise, who is also the MMC for finance, and his alleged involvement in the spending of millions of rands on water tankers despite not owning any.
DA mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink welcomed the progress in exposing what he described as Tshwane’s “water‑tanker mafia”, and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into the R777m spent on tankers in the 2024‑25 financial year.
“This is an important step towards uncovering the full extent of corruption and abuse by Tshwane’s water‑tanker mafia.
The seriousness of this matter was further underscored by a Sunday Times report which exposed that companies linked to two senior ANC leaders – most notably the ANC deputy mayor and MMC for finance, who received R31.7 million in water‑tanker contracts despite not owning a single water tanker,” he said.
Tanker expenditure
Brink argued that the ballooning of tanker expenditure under the ANC‑led administration had laid bare the real reason the ANC removed the DA from government in Tshwane.
ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont countered that the series of claims relating to water tankers in Tshwane misrepresented the facts.
The SIU has now been tasked with probing the irregularities, amid growing concern about political patronage and the intersection of the taxi industry with municipal tenders.
Opposition leaders argue the scandal exposes entrenched corruption and undermines efforts to rein in Tshwane’s ballooning tanker expenditure.
