Leaked Sanral memo alleges billions in irregular road contracts

A leaked internal memorandum submitted to the board of the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (Sanral) has revealed explosive allegations of corruption, unlawful procurement practices, and possible fraud involving billions of rand in Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) contracts.

The memorandum, dated 24 April 2026 and compiled by Sanral’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) department, paints a picture of deepening governance turmoil within the state owned roads agency, with allegations of irregular contract awards, unlawful extensions of expired contracts, intimidation of officials, and possible manipulation of board documents.

At the centre of the allegations are RRM contracts, which the memo claims have been plagued by irregular procurement processes dating back more than a decade.

According to the submission, Sanral incurred approximately R9.5 billion in irregular expenditure between the 2011/12 and 2018/19 financial years after using a “Gamma distribution model” to appoint contractors instead of following legally prescribed public procurement processes.

The SCM department alleged that from 2019 to 2023, no open tender process was undertaken for certain RRM contracts. Instead, contracts were allegedly awarded based on a “nearest or adjacent contractor” principle, internally referred to as “once appointed, always appointed”.

The memo claims this process was formalised through internal standard operating procedures despite allegedly being inconsistent with procurement legislation and Treasury regulations.

The allegations escalated following the appointment of a new chief procurement officer (CPO) in 2024, after which SCM processes were reportedly reviewed and revised. An open tender process for RRM contracts was subsequently initiated and approved by Sanral’s Bid Adjudication Committee and board.

Law firm ENS reportedly provided assurance that the tender process complied with applicable procurement regulations.

However, several existing contractors challenged the tender awards in court, prompting further controversy.

The memorandum alleges that while the legal dispute was ongoing, contracts worth approximately R274 million were awarded without SCM involvement or approval by senior official Dumisani Nkabinde.

The contracts allegedly went to some of the same contractors challenging the tender process in court, including QTC Civils, BCB Solutions, Damians Contractors and Matchaba Detoue Construction.

According to the memo, the SCM department only became aware of the contracts months later after Finance raised concerns over overdue payments linked to invoices submitted for the work.

The memorandum further alleges that the contractors were eventually paid through a “direct payment” process after condonation approval was signed, despite the matter allegedly not being reported to Sanral’s Loss Control Committee for irregular expenditure.

The document also raises serious concerns regarding the extension of RRM contracts that expired on 30 November 2025.

According to the memo, Sanral’s board approved the extension of the contracts during a Sunday evening meeting on the day the contracts expired. SCM officials claim they were not invited to the meeting and that the extensions bypassed normal procurement approval processes, including approval by the Bid Adjudication Committee.

The SCM department argued that contract extensions cannot legally be concluded after expiry and sought guidance from National Treasury.

In correspondence attached to the memo, National Treasury reportedly advised Sanral that “expired contracts cannot be extended” and that extensions should be concluded before expiry dates.

Despite this guidance, the memorandum alleges that the CEO assumed authority to sign extension letters after Treasury’s response and proceeded to issue the extensions from early December 2025 onward.

The memo further claims that SCM later discovered additional contracts had been extended beyond those originally approved in the board memorandum.

One of the most serious allegations contained in the submission concerns the existence of two separate board memoranda, both dated 30 November 2025 and allegedly signed by the former board chairperson, but containing different contract lists and values.

The SCM department suggested that either the second memorandum was signed after the contracts had already expired or the chairperson’s signature may have been inserted without his knowledge.

Further suspicion was reportedly raised after another board resolution, allegedly dated 29 January 2026, appeared to contain document metadata showing it was created on 1 April 2026, after the former board chairperson had already left office.

The memorandum also alleges that SCM officials who questioned the legality of the extensions were subjected to intimidation and threats of disciplinary action.

According to the submission, ENS was instructed to conduct interviews with SCM officials over allegations that they had refused to implement board resolutions.

The SCM department argued that it had not refused to implement lawful instructions but had raised concerns because National Treasury had explicitly advised that expired contracts could not legally be extended.

The memorandum further alleged that ENS had accumulated more than R45 million in legal fees over a year while simultaneously advising on procurement processes, representing Sanral in litigation, and participating in investigations involving SCM officials, raising concerns about possible conflicts of interest.

The document concludes with a call for a full forensic investigation into all RRM contracts awarded since 2013, a review of payments made to contractors and subcontractors, and the appointment of independent legal representation in ongoing litigation.

It also warns that SCM officials fear victimisation and claim their lives may be at risk due to the escalating tensions surrounding the contracts.

Sanral had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of publication.