BHISHO, Friday 4 September 2026 — President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the Special Investigating Unit to investigate allegations of serious maladministration and corruption involving five contracts at the Eastern Cape Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, opening a new anti-corruption investigation into provincial procurement ahead of November’s local government elections.
The investigation was authorised through a presidential proclamation and covers procurement or contracting undertaken by or on behalf of the provincial department.
SABC News reported on Friday afternoon that the five contracts fall within a period stretching from 2021 to September 2026.
The proclamation empowers the SIU to examine whether procurement for goods, works or services complied with applicable laws and requirements and to investigate related allegations of maladministration or unlawful conduct.
It also enables the unit to pursue the recovery of financial losses suffered by the state where evidence supports civil action.
The authorisation does not constitute a finding that corruption occurred.
The SIU must investigate the allegations and establish whether there was unlawful or improper conduct before pursuing remedial action against officials, contractors or other parties.
Eastern Cape Public Works and Infrastructure spokesperson Siyabonga Mdodi confirmed that the department was aware of the presidential proclamation and said it welcomed the investigation.
The department has undertaken to cooperate with the SIU and said the investigation should establish the facts and enable appropriate consequences if wrongdoing is found.
The investigation adds the provincial department to a growing list of state bodies and municipalities subjected to presidentially authorised SIU investigations.
Under the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, the SIU may investigate serious maladministration, irregular or unlawful expenditure and conduct that may have caused losses to the state.
Where evidence supports it, the unit can institute civil proceedings in the Special Tribunal or High Court to recover public money or set aside unlawful transactions.
Potential criminal evidence uncovered during an investigation is referred to the appropriate prosecuting or law-enforcement authority rather than prosecuted by the SIU itself.
The timing is politically relevant in the Eastern Cape, where governance and service delivery are increasingly prominent in campaigning for the 4 November local government elections.
The ANC continues to govern the province and its two metropolitan municipalities, Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Bay, although the latter has experienced repeated coalition instability during the current municipal term.
A new Ipsos survey published on Friday also indicated competitive ANC-DA contests in both metros, though polling should not be treated as an election-result forecast.
The provincial Public Works investigation is separate from municipal government and there is no evidence at this stage linking the five contracts to either metro.
Its political significance instead lies in renewed scrutiny of procurement and financial governance within an ANC-led provincial administration during the final two months of the municipal campaign.
The investigation also follows a broader series of SIU authorisations affecting provincial and municipal institutions.
Ramaphosa has this year authorised investigations involving institutions including the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Health, Free State Education and provincial public works departments elsewhere in the country.
The SIU’s mandate is not limited to conduct occurring after a proclamation is issued.
Presidential proclamations can empower investigators to examine conduct from specified historical periods as well as earlier or later transactions connected to the matters identified in the terms of reference.
The immediate focus in the Eastern Cape will therefore be the five contracts identified for scrutiny and any payments, officials or suppliers associated with them.
Neither the identities of the affected contractors nor the individual contract values were set out in the initial public reporting on Friday.
Those details will be important in determining the scale and political significance of the investigation.
The SIU may also seek preservation orders or other civil remedies if investigators identify assets or funds believed to represent the proceeds of unlawful transactions.
The Eastern Cape department has said its employees should cooperate fully with investigators.
Further developments are expected as the SIU publishes the precise proclamation and begins implementing its investigative mandate.
