Mapaballo Borotho
- An investigation has revealed that a white-owned company, CMS Water Engineering, used black people as fronts to secure multimillion-rand government tenders, including the R291 million Rooiwal Wastewater Project.
- The failed project is linked to the 2023 Hammanskraal cholera outbreak that claimed several lives.
- Investigative journalist Susan Comrie suggests that CMS, not just tenderpreneur Edwin Sodi, may hold the key to uncovering the truth behind both the project and the mysterious death of its CEO, Rudolf Schoeman Jr.
The 2023 cholera outbreak that left scores of people dead in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, and left the community reeling and hopeless, remains one of South Africa’s unresolved cases.
The source of the outbreak remains unknown; however, the failed R291 million Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant project, led by well-known tenderpreneur Edwin Sodi, remains the prime suspect in the loss of life in Hammanskraal.
Investigative journalist Susan Comrie and her team discovered that, even though Sodi’s Rooiwal project is at the center of the investigation regarding the outbreak, Rudolf Schoeman Jr might be the man authorities have been looking for to crack the case.
Before his passing, Schoeman Jr was the CEO of CMS Water Engineering, a company alleged to have scored government tenders worth millions, using black people as fronts.
Schoeman was found dead in his Bryanston mansion on 6 March 2023. According to police reports, his death was caused by natural causes; however, sources told Comrie and her team that when his employees found him lifeless after one of his lavish parties, there were lines of blood and slight swelling on his face.
“Schoeman Junior died under mysterious circumstances. It was ruled as natural causes, but the family had questions and asked the police to investigate. So, there are still questions as to whether he died of natural causes or not,” said Susan Comrie.
Comrie revealed details of their investigation on Kaya 959’s Point of View with Phemelo Motene. She said that even though the infamous Sodi led the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant, the contract was allegedly under the collapsed CMS Water Engineering, and that Sodi was just a front.
Due to BBBEE rules and regulations, the fully white-owned company allegedly used black people as fronts to secure government contracts.
It was also revealed that between 2009 and 2012, most of the company’s shares were transferred to Rudolf Schoeman Sr’s son-in-law, who admitted that, on paper, he was a shareholder, but had no involvement in running the company.
Comrie says that during her team’s investigation, they found CMS Water Engineering had left a trail of destruction across four provinces, broken sewage plants, unpaid workers, dry taps, and contaminated drinking water. To secure contracts, CMS partnered with Sodi’s civil engineering firm, NJR Projects.
CMS Water Engineering is currently in liquidation.
Listen to the full conversation below:
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