amaBhungane
@amabhungane.bsky.social
Investigative journalism in the public interest. Digging dung, fertilising democracy. http://amabhungane.org
The reason we went to Zeerust was to look at the wastewater treatment plant, which was supposed to be upgraded by CMS Water Engineering at a cost of R129-million, but which instead lay partially abandoned.
November 22, 2025 at 8:02 AM
The reason we went to Zeerust was to look at the wastewater treatment plant, which was supposed to be upgraded by CMS Water Engineering at a cost of R129-million, but which instead lay partially abandoned.
When one of our journalists visited the Zeerust wastewater treatment plant in November 2023, she found Ziggy’s workers doing maintenance.
November 22, 2025 at 8:02 AM
When one of our journalists visited the Zeerust wastewater treatment plant in November 2023, she found Ziggy’s workers doing maintenance.
Carrim is perceived as being a powerful figure in the North West. But on paper, his job is far more modest: treasurer of the ANC for the Ngaka Modiri Molema region, which includes the province’s capital, Mahikeng, and smaller towns like Zeerust and Sannieshof.
November 22, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Carrim is perceived as being a powerful figure in the North West. But on paper, his job is far more modest: treasurer of the ANC for the Ngaka Modiri Molema region, which includes the province’s capital, Mahikeng, and smaller towns like Zeerust and Sannieshof.
Rudolf Schoeman Jnr. was a large-than-life character: people have described him as charming, charismatic, a loud guy, but also the biggest bullshitter they’d ever met. Despite this, there is almost no trace of him online.
November 19, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Rudolf Schoeman Jnr. was a large-than-life character: people have described him as charming, charismatic, a loud guy, but also the biggest bullshitter they’d ever met. Despite this, there is almost no trace of him online.
Rudolf Schoeman Jnr. built a R2-billion empire off the back of the country’s crumbling water infrastructure. By 2022, CMS Water Engineering was itself imploding as contracts were cancelled, and angry business partners and creditors came knocking at its door.
November 18, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Rudolf Schoeman Jnr. built a R2-billion empire off the back of the country’s crumbling water infrastructure. By 2022, CMS Water Engineering was itself imploding as contracts were cancelled, and angry business partners and creditors came knocking at its door.
What happened to the money for Rooiwal? In the months before the project’s collapsed, Edwin Sodi’s business partner Rudolf Schoeman Jnr was spending millions on lamb and gold.
November 14, 2025 at 6:03 AM
What happened to the money for Rooiwal? In the months before the project’s collapsed, Edwin Sodi’s business partner Rudolf Schoeman Jnr was spending millions on lamb and gold.
Calling all muckrakers, truth-diggers and fearless investigative journalists — amaBhungane is hiring!
Learn more and read the full job description here: https://amabhungane.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/senior-reporter_advert.docx.pdf
Learn more and read the full job description here: https://amabhungane.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/senior-reporter_advert.docx.pdf
November 14, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Calling all muckrakers, truth-diggers and fearless investigative journalists — amaBhungane is hiring!
Learn more and read the full job description here: https://amabhungane.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/senior-reporter_advert.docx.pdf
Learn more and read the full job description here: https://amabhungane.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/senior-reporter_advert.docx.pdf
This week, the Information Regulator ordered @sarstax to release the tax returns and documents related to Jacob Zuma’s tax affairs to amaBhungane and journalist Warren Thompson. This is the latest development in a saga that’s been running since 2019.
November 14, 2025 at 4:02 AM
This week, the Information Regulator ordered @sarstax to release the tax returns and documents related to Jacob Zuma’s tax affairs to amaBhungane and journalist Warren Thompson. This is the latest development in a saga that’s been running since 2019.
Critical repairs to the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant outside Hammanskraal ground to a halt in 2022, after CMS Water Engineering ran out of money.
November 12, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Critical repairs to the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant outside Hammanskraal ground to a halt in 2022, after CMS Water Engineering ran out of money.
In December 2021, a container-sized wooden box arrived in Durban. Inside: equipment that was urgently needed to repair the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant near Hammanskraal.
The problem? CMS Water Engineering couldn’t pay the R4.7-million in fees and taxes to get the box released.
The problem? CMS Water Engineering couldn’t pay the R4.7-million in fees and taxes to get the box released.
November 11, 2025 at 11:04 AM
In December 2021, a container-sized wooden box arrived in Durban. Inside: equipment that was urgently needed to repair the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant near Hammanskraal.
The problem? CMS Water Engineering couldn’t pay the R4.7-million in fees and taxes to get the box released.
The problem? CMS Water Engineering couldn’t pay the R4.7-million in fees and taxes to get the box released.
Service delivery failure in a small town like Zeerust is almost taken for granted, given the wide disfunction of local government.
November 6, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Service delivery failure in a small town like Zeerust is almost taken for granted, given the wide disfunction of local government.
#DeadlyWater For years, CMS Water delivered 40 projects worth over R500-million, handed over without drama. But as Rudolf Schoeman chased bigger deals, the cracks began to show.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=IluIn1ZdSSeSWXe4uvM6ug
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=IluIn1ZdSSeSWXe4uvM6ug
November 2, 2025 at 9:03 AM
#DeadlyWater For years, CMS Water delivered 40 projects worth over R500-million, handed over without drama. But as Rudolf Schoeman chased bigger deals, the cracks began to show.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=IluIn1ZdSSeSWXe4uvM6ug
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=IluIn1ZdSSeSWXe4uvM6ug
#DeadlyWater When we visited the plant in Rustenburg, all we found was a lone blue shipping container marked “CMS Water Engineering.” Sources say the Rooiwal disaster was never a surprise.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=7904d61607a14307
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=7904d61607a14307
November 1, 2025 at 6:03 AM
#DeadlyWater When we visited the plant in Rustenburg, all we found was a lone blue shipping container marked “CMS Water Engineering.” Sources say the Rooiwal disaster was never a surprise.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=7904d61607a14307
https://open.spotify.com/episode/66uvdst5xPw3jpwPDtaPl1?si=7904d61607a14307
R1.2-million goes missing on the Rooiwal project, Edwin Sodi opened a case of theft and fraud against his business partner, and the City of Tshwane reluctantly coughs up R8.4-million to cover the shortfall.
October 24, 2025 at 6:02 AM
R1.2-million goes missing on the Rooiwal project, Edwin Sodi opened a case of theft and fraud against his business partner, and the City of Tshwane reluctantly coughs up R8.4-million to cover the shortfall.
Opinions remain divided on now-deceased CMS Water boss Rudolf Schoeman Jnr, who partnered with Edwin Sodi on the Rooiwal project. Some see him as a maverick, others “the biggest bullshitter” they’d ever met.
October 22, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Opinions remain divided on now-deceased CMS Water boss Rudolf Schoeman Jnr, who partnered with Edwin Sodi on the Rooiwal project. Some see him as a maverick, others “the biggest bullshitter” they’d ever met.
Do we know the real story behind the collapse of the R291-million Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant project? Was Edwin Sodi conned by his now-deceased business partner, as he has always claimed? AmaBhungane went digging.
October 21, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Do we know the real story behind the collapse of the R291-million Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant project? Was Edwin Sodi conned by his now-deceased business partner, as he has always claimed? AmaBhungane went digging.
We are proud that the Information Regulator presented us with a certificate of recognition for “outstanding efforts in advancing access to information and promoting transparency and accountability.”
September 30, 2025 at 10:03 AM
We are proud that the Information Regulator presented us with a certificate of recognition for “outstanding efforts in advancing access to information and promoting transparency and accountability.”
Gazprombank won the tender after 19 out of 20 other bidders were eliminated for technical reasons. An internal audit investigation concluded that Gazprombank should have scored 40 points out of 100 and been eliminated:
Read: https://amabhungane.org/petrosas-deal-with-russia-implodes/
Read: https://amabhungane.org/petrosas-deal-with-russia-implodes/
September 12, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Gazprombank won the tender after 19 out of 20 other bidders were eliminated for technical reasons. An internal audit investigation concluded that Gazprombank should have scored 40 points out of 100 and been eliminated:
Read: https://amabhungane.org/petrosas-deal-with-russia-implodes/
Read: https://amabhungane.org/petrosas-deal-with-russia-implodes/
By Nov 2025, we will have spent R2.5bn dithering, largely because PetroSA relied on vague undertakings by Gazprombank that it would fund the project. The board had even warned PetroSA that the Russians were tough negotiators, which could delay the project:
September 12, 2025 at 10:03 AM
By Nov 2025, we will have spent R2.5bn dithering, largely because PetroSA relied on vague undertakings by Gazprombank that it would fund the project. The board had even warned PetroSA that the Russians were tough negotiators, which could delay the project:
What has our flirtation with Russia’s Gazprombank cost us?
Rough guess: R500m a year to keep the Mossel Bay refinery in care & maintenance. PetroSA issued RFP0001 in Jan 2022, it’ll likely be Jan 2026 before we issue
another tender which puts the cost at ±R2-BILLION.
Rough guess: R500m a year to keep the Mossel Bay refinery in care & maintenance. PetroSA issued RFP0001 in Jan 2022, it’ll likely be Jan 2026 before we issue
another tender which puts the cost at ±R2-BILLION.
September 12, 2025 at 10:02 AM
What has our flirtation with Russia’s Gazprombank cost us?
Rough guess: R500m a year to keep the Mossel Bay refinery in care & maintenance. PetroSA issued RFP0001 in Jan 2022, it’ll likely be Jan 2026 before we issue
another tender which puts the cost at ±R2-BILLION.
Rough guess: R500m a year to keep the Mossel Bay refinery in care & maintenance. PetroSA issued RFP0001 in Jan 2022, it’ll likely be Jan 2026 before we issue
another tender which puts the cost at ±R2-BILLION.
AmaB’s investigative journalist Azarrah Karrim will be speaking at the Annual ACFE Africa Conference along with News24’s Kyle Cowan and Sipho Masondo. They will be speaking about protecting sources while still retrieving the facts. Registration closes today, tickets online.
September 5, 2025 at 2:04 PM
AmaB’s investigative journalist Azarrah Karrim will be speaking at the Annual ACFE Africa Conference along with News24’s Kyle Cowan and Sipho Masondo. They will be speaking about protecting sources while still retrieving the facts. Registration closes today, tickets online.
On 19 June, an Intercape bus driver was arrested in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape after refusing to hand over his bus to traffic officers while passengers were still on board.
September 3, 2025 at 6:01 AM
On 19 June, an Intercape bus driver was arrested in Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape after refusing to hand over his bus to traffic officers while passengers were still on board.
PAIA – the law that gives effect to our right to access to information – is a vital cog in our constitutional framework. But it is failing.
August 11, 2025 at 4:01 AM
PAIA – the law that gives effect to our right to access to information – is a vital cog in our constitutional framework. But it is failing.
We refuse to accept that corruption is the cost of doing business with the state.
AmaBhungane is joining legal challenges by the Western Cape Premier and the City of Cape Town against the new Public Procurement Act — a framework that risks entrenching corruption.
AmaBhungane is joining legal challenges by the Western Cape Premier and the City of Cape Town against the new Public Procurement Act — a framework that risks entrenching corruption.
August 10, 2025 at 8:02 AM
We refuse to accept that corruption is the cost of doing business with the state.
AmaBhungane is joining legal challenges by the Western Cape Premier and the City of Cape Town against the new Public Procurement Act — a framework that risks entrenching corruption.
AmaBhungane is joining legal challenges by the Western Cape Premier and the City of Cape Town against the new Public Procurement Act — a framework that risks entrenching corruption.
In 2020, Inhlanhla Ventures lost money when the stock they invested in fell and then rose suspiciously. Suspecting market manipulation, Inhlanhla asked the JSE for information on the trades, hoping that if it showed illegality, they could recoup their losses.
August 9, 2025 at 8:01 AM
In 2020, Inhlanhla Ventures lost money when the stock they invested in fell and then rose suspiciously. Suspecting market manipulation, Inhlanhla asked the JSE for information on the trades, hoping that if it showed illegality, they could recoup their losses.