Department of Transport allegedly spent R15 million on streaming services

The Department of Transport (DoT) allegedly spent up to R15 million on livestreaming services over the course of several years for audiences as small as 100 people.

This is according to Esethu Hasane, a senior official at the department, who claimed he had reported the expense to the DoT on multiple occasions.

Hasane said that internal reporting, which started on 14 May 2025, did not prompt the DoT to launch an investigation until the Hawks visited him to take a statement.

On 19 May 2026, he made a formal protected disclosure to the Auditor-General (AG), National Treasury, SCOPA, Parliament, and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation.

“The Auditor-General found that seven requests for quotation for live streaming were each structured below the R1 million threshold above which an open competitive tender must be invited,” Hasane said.

“With winning amounts of R990,000, R996,000, R997,050, R830,000, R990,000, R990,000, and R993,000, totaling R6,786,050.”

Speaking to eNCA, Hasane alleged that the DoT spent R13.27 million on livestreaming services over two financial years, and that only a handful of people watched them.

The payments were classified as irregular expenditure under the Public Finance Management Act by the AG, which recommended consequence management, according to MyBroadband.

The AG later wrote to Hasane to confirm his allegations about the procurement, supplier relationships, and possible conflict of interests highlighted in a recent regulatory audit.

He said that if the DoT had acted on his earlier reports from 2025, the later procurements would not have been awarded.

“On my own assessment, and not as a finding of any institution, the R6.8 million quoted value found by the Auditor-General was entirely preventable.”

The DoT responded to the claims on Sunday, stating that it took the allegations very seriously. Acting Director-General Mathabatha Mokonyama ordered an independent investigation by the law firm Bowmans.

Transport Department allegedly tried to dismiss Hasane

Hasane said he has submitted his findings to Bowmans, and that he expects the irregular expenditure to reach R15 million once the earlier procurement cycles are concluded.

“Accordingly, we request the public and Mr Hasane to give the department time to investigate and take remedial action if the investigation indicates breach of the regulatory environment,” said the DoT.

The department added that Hasane’s claims that he was victimised for being a whistleblower were unfounded.

“These allegations of harassment were dismissed with costs by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court following his court application for a protection order,” the department said.

“Similarly, the allegations were also dismissed with costs by the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council.”

Hasane confronted these statements, saying that he had obtained a report from the DoT under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, which showed an anonymous letter from within the department calling for his dismissal.

“It was traced to a senior official who ‘knowingly submitted a false anonymous complaint, this constitutes misconduct,’ and that ‘what he has done is unethical,’” he said.

Hasane added that high-level employees had accused him of being in contempt of the department. He also claimed that Mokonyama had said there would be consequences for the whistleblower.

“I am not asking for anyone to be dismissed. The Auditor-General found non-compliance with procurement legislation and irregular expenditure,” Hasane said.

“The forensic investigation has not been reported, and the criminal investigation has not concluded. No finding has been made against any service provider, and I make no allegation against any of them.”