Businessman Admits Role in Controversial R360-Million Police Contract, Denies Fronting Allegations
Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has acknowledged his company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, was awarded a R360-million South African Police Service (Saps) health services contract, but has refuted claims he acted as a front for others. Testifying before parliament’s ad hoc committee on police yesterday, Matlala also dismissed former police minister Bheki Cele's evidence, accusing him of perjury regarding their relationship.
Matlala claimed he made two separate payments totalling R500,000 to Cele and assisted in transporting Cele and his wife to a wedding. These claims are in stark contrast to Cele's testimony, adding another layer of complexity to the ongoing investigation.
Regarding the contentious police tender, Matlala explained that the initial idea for the hospital project originated from Mike van Wyk, a fellow resident of his estate. The arrangement between Matlala and Van Wyk was structured as a franchisor-franchisee relationship, with Van Wyk owning Medicare24 Holdings.
Under the agreement, Matlala was to register his company under Medicare24 Holdings and remit a management fee to the company for every contract secured by Medicare24 Tshwane District. Matlala detailed how Van Wyk approached him with the proposition.
“He first asked me, what do I do for a living? And I told him I do RFQs, meaning I supply medical equipment to hospitals. So then, when I mentioned the hospitals, maybe that’s when I got his attention, because he’s also into health care," Matlala stated.
“Then he told me we want to send proposals to manage the clinics in the townships and said: ‘But since you are black and maybe you can have much more advantage than us, so why don’t you register the company for yourself? And then you get the business, we handle the management and then you can take the rest’,” he added.
Evidence leader Advocate Norman Arendse questioned whether Van Wyk intended for Matlala to act as a front. However, Matlala firmly denied these allegations. “No, that’s not the deal,” Matlala asserted. “What I believe is that if someone is in fronting, I don’t think he will be 100% in charge of their finances. It’s a genuine business.”
Matlala clarified that bidding for the Saps contract under the Medicare24 Holdings banner provided the necessary track record and credibility. Although his company submitted the bid, documentation was provided indicating that he was a franchisee and that Medicare24 Holdings would undertake the actual work. “I was bidding for a contract there and then it was just the Saps contract that I was lucky with,” he said.
The committee also heard that Matlala had rented the hospital on the Saps training academy in Pretoria West in December 2023, several months before the tender was secured in June 2024. Matlala maintained that the timing of these events was purely coincidental. He explained that he identified a business opportunity to provide services to the police trainees.
“That hospital, I’ve been trying to secure the lease for the past three years. So when they say, you know, you are about to get a tender, for me, that does not add up," Matlala stated. “I just learned that the students who are being trained by the college sometimes get injuries. I wanted to use that hospital as an opportunity for them to render services to them.”
Matlala resigned as a director in December 2024, but admitted he failed to inform Saps of his resignation, attributing it to an "oversight." The contract has since been terminated.
According to News24, while the contract was advertised for R360 million, R600 million was available in the Saps budget. On Tuesday, Saps chief financial officer Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane informed the committee that the contract was flagged as potentially irregular expenditure in March 2024 and confirmed as irregular in May. A total of R466 million was disclosed as irregular expenditure. Dimpane has instructed her team to halt all further payments, although a few invoices remain in the system.
The committee also learned about Matlala's past. In 2001, he was arrested for purchasing "stuff which was illegal" and sentenced to four years in prison, which was later converted to correctional supervision. He formally registered his first business in security in 2017.
Matlala provided security services to the late Pretoria taxi boss Jothan “Mswazi” Msibi’s farm. He met Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya at Msibi’s farm, where Sibiya was a "regular," the committee heard. He then transitioned into the health care business in 2018.
The investigation into the Medicare24 Tshwane District contract continues, raising questions about procurement processes within Saps and the oversight mechanisms in place to prevent irregular expenditure. The conflicting testimonies and Matlala's history add further complexity to the matter, ensuring it remains a focal point of public and parliamentary scrutiny.
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