The Gauteng Partnership Fund has confirmed that it received a payment of R7.2 million to settle a claim linked to a failed housing project involving Nceba Nonkwelo, the son-in-law of Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
The payment resolved a claim originally valued at R12.6 million, effectively reducing the amount pursued by the fund by R5.4 million. The amount paid was equal to the total that Nonkwelo’s company, Nonkwelo Investments, had drawn down from loan facilities granted by the GPF between 2013 and 2017.
The housing project in central Johannesburg was never completed. According to an investigation by GMI Attorneys, the development encountered major cost increases after large rock formations were found during the early construction phase more than a decade ago.
The project was initially intended to provide affordable housing. In 2017, its scope was changed to student accommodation, but no construction work ultimately went ahead.
The settlement brings to an end more than a decade of attempts by the GPF to recover money advanced to the company. However, questions remain about the decision to waive accrued interest and about the process that led to the second round of loans.
Settlement amount reduced from R12.6 million
The GPF initially pursued a claim of R12.6 million against Nonkwelo. The amount included the money drawn down under the loan facilities and interest that had accumulated over time.
The R5.4 million reduction was made up of accrued interest. Some of that interest had been added to the account under the terms of a settlement agreement that Nonkwelo signed but failed to honour in December 2024.
Nonkwelo was cited in his personal capacity in court papers filed by the GPF in January 2025 because he had stood surety for his company’s obligations under the loan agreements.
An updated certificate of balance placed the amount owed at R7.2 million and recorded that the balance had been reduced to zero by March 2026. A certificate dated March 2025, which had been included in court papers, had placed the balance at R12.6 million.
The GPF was asked to explain why it had waived the interest and whether it believed the reduced settlement amount was justified. No response had been provided at the time of publication.
GPF cites confidentiality
The GPF refused to release the settlement agreement or proof of payment after a request was made under the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
The agency cited confidentiality provisions in the agreement. It said the parties could disclose that the dispute had been settled and that the GPF had recovered the full amount drawn down by Nonkwelo Investments, but that the remaining terms were confidential.
“In terms of the agreement, the parties may publicly disclose that the dispute was settled and that [the] GPF recovered the full amount drawn down by Nonkwelo Investments. However, the remaining terms and contents of the settlement agreement are subject to the confidentiality obligations agreed between the parties,” the GPF said in explaining its decision not to grant access to the agreement.
Instead of providing a redacted proof of payment, the GPF supplied the updated certificate of balance showing that the R7.2 million amount had been paid and the balance reduced to zero.
Nonkwelo previously indicated that he regarded the matter as finished.
“What I can say is that the matter has been resolved. I regard it as concluded and firmly behind me, and I have no further comment to make on the matter,” Nonkwelo said previously.
The settlement means that the GPF has recovered the amount drawn down under the loan facilities, but it does not disclose the confidential terms of the agreement or explain whether any other obligations remain.
Loans approved while Mashatile was housing MEC
The first loans were granted in 2013. Additional loans were approved in March 2017, when Mashatile was the Gauteng MEC responsible for human settlements and had oversight responsibilities connected to the GPF.
The family relationship and the timing of the loans have attracted scrutiny. The available information does not establish that Mashatile was involved in approving the funding or that he benefited from the loans.
A later investigation found that the GPF had made significant efforts to approve the second set of loans to Nonkwelo’s company in 2017. It also questioned whether the change in the project’s scope from affordable housing to student accommodation was proper.
GMI Attorneys found that it could not make conclusive findings about whether all GPF policies and procedures had been followed because some documents were unavailable.
The investigation also found that there was no legal basis for the GPF to approve the change in scope from affordable housing to student accommodation. It said there may have been negligence by both Nonkwelo Investments and the GPF because a proper site investigation may not have been carried out before the funding was granted.
The report further found that the GPF had not used all available remedies to recover the money from Nonkwelo.
These findings do not amount to a criminal conviction or a finding that any individual committed fraud. They identify weaknesses and possible negligence in the funding and recovery processes.
Mediation delayed court process
After the investigation, the GPF filed court papers seeking to enforce the settlement agreement signed by Nonkwelo in respect of the debt.
The court process was placed in abeyance while the parties engaged in mediation. High Court directives now require civil claims to go through mediation before litigation in an effort to reduce pressure on the courts.
The eventual R7.2 million settlement appears to have resolved the claim, but the confidential agreement has prevented the public from seeing the terms under which the GPF accepted the payment.
Other property and lease questions
The loan dispute forms part of wider scrutiny of Nonkwelo’s business dealings and his relationship with Mashatile’s family.
Companies linked to Nonkwelo reportedly funded the purchase of a R37 million mansion in Waterfall for Mashatile’s use. Another company connected to him reportedly funded the purchase of a R28 million house in Constantia, Cape Town, which was also intended to be available for Mashatile’s use.
In a separate matter, taxpayers reportedly paid R35 million to settle a claim linked to a lease agreement involving Nonkwelo in 2008.
Nonkwelo purchased properties in New Doornfontein, Gauteng, for R12 million. Within weeks of signing a lease agreement under which the Gauteng Department of Community Safety would occupy the properties for nine years and nine months, he sold them for R45 million to a company linked to the Moti Group, then controlled by Zunaid Moti.
The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development later paid R35 million to exit the lease. The Department of Community Safety had vacated the premises in March 2011.
The latest GPF settlement does not resolve the questions surrounding those separate property and lease transactions. It confirms only that the fund received R7.2 million and that its recorded balance was reduced to zero in March 2026.
The confidential settlement terms, the decision to waive R5.4 million in interest and the original approval of the loans remain matters of public interest because the GPF is a provincial agency responsible for financing social housing projects.
“What I can say is that the matter has been resolved. I regard it as concluded and firmly behind me, and I have no further comment to make on the matter,” Nonkwelo said previously.