Calling for B-BBEE Commission Probe into Moriel Infrastructure Group

JOHANNESBURG | 21 September 2026 - Public Interest SA calls on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission to urgently investigate the ownership, management-control and governance arrangements of Moriel Infrastructure Group (Pty) Ltd, including whether there may have been any misrepresentation of its B-BBEE status or possible contravention of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act.

The call follows Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s instruction to the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) Board to investigate the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Moriel Infrastructure Group and determine whether the company was lawfully appointed and is meeting its contractual obligations.

The investigation follows the disturbing incident at a Sandton restaurant involving Moriel’s founder and, until this weekend, Executive Chairman and director, Lawrence Mudzinganyama.

Public Interest SA believes that the SANRAL investigation should be complemented by an independent investigation by the B-BBEE Commission into the company’s ownership and management-control arrangements, particularly given its participation in significant public-sector procurement.

SANRAL's published tender records identify Moriel Infrastructure Group as a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor in procurement processes. It is therefore manifestly in the public interest that the basis upon which the company attained and represented its empowerment status be independently verified.

Information reviewed by Public Interest SA from publicly accessible company records raises questions concerning the respective roles and authority exercised by the company's directors, including black female director Palesa Matlala. These questions should not be interpreted as a finding of wrongdoing against Ms Matlala or any other person. They do, however, warrant scrutiny by the statutory body specifically empowered to investigate possible fronting and misrepresentation.

The B-BBEE Commission should establish, among other things, the company's actual and historical shareholding and beneficial ownership; the extent of voting rights and economic interests held by its shareholders; the effective management and decision-making powers exercised by each director; the basis upon which Moriel obtained its B-BBEE status; and whether black participants identified for purposes of ownership or management control exercised the rights, authority and economic benefits represented in the company's empowerment credentials.

These questions have acquired additional significance following Moriel's announcement that its Board had resolved to terminate its association with Mr Mudzinganyama with immediate effect.

The company's own statement describes Mr Mudzinganyama as having served as its Executive Chairman and a director. It states that the Board resolved to terminate its association with him following the incident at Vlamo restaurant.

While Public Interest SA acknowledges Moriel's condemnation of the conduct captured in the footage, the announcement itself raises legitimate governance questions requiring clarification.

Who constituted the Board that took this decision? Did Mr Mudzinganyama participate in the meeting or decision concerning his own removal? If not, which directors considered and approved the resolution? What voting and decision-making authority did each director exercise? Who ultimately controls the company, and who are its beneficial owners?

These are not peripheral questions. They go directly to the probity of corporate governance and, potentially, the accuracy of representations concerning ownership and management control made in securing B-BBEE recognition and public-sector contracts.

The timing and legal effect of Mr Mudzinganyama's removal should also be examined to establish whether it represents a substantive change in the control and governance of the company or merely the severance of his formal association with it. The investigation should establish whether the decision has any bearing on existing SANRAL contracts and whether it could have the effect, intended or otherwise, of insulating the company from consequences arising from the investigations ordered by the Minister.

Public Interest SA stresses that it is not making a finding that fronting or any other B-BBEE contravention has occurred. That determination properly belongs to the B-BBEE Commission following a fair investigation. However, the Commission itself recognises that fronting may include circumstances in which black people are presented as directors, shareholders or executives without exercising the corresponding authority or receiving the associated economic benefits. The questions now surrounding Moriel warrant regulatory scrutiny.

This is particularly important because Moriel has benefited from substantial public procurement opportunities. Where a company does business with the State, the public is entitled to know that representations made regarding ownership, transformation, governance and eligibility for preferential procurement are genuine, accurate and capable of withstanding scrutiny.

Should an investigation establish that Moriel Infrastructure Group, any of its directors, shareholders, advisers or other parties misrepresented the company's ownership or management arrangements, manipulated its B-BBEE status or participated in any fronting practice, Public Interest SA calls for the full application of the law, including appropriate referrals to law-enforcement and procurement authorities.

We further call upon SANRAL to preserve and make available to the relevant investigative authorities all B-BBEE certificates, affidavits, ownership declarations, tender submissions, CSD records and other representations submitted by Moriel in connection with contracts awarded to it.

Public Interest SA also calls upon the Department of Home Affairs to verify Mr Mudzinganyama's immigration and residency status and establish whether he has at all material times complied with South Africa's immigration and employment laws. This call should similarly not be construed as an allegation that an immigration offence has occurred, but as a request for the competent authority to establish the facts.

The disturbing incident that precipitated the present scrutiny cannot simply be treated as an isolated reputational crisis followed by the removal of an executive. Where significant public contracts and transformation credentials are involved, accountability requires that regulators follow the evidence wherever it leads.

South Africa's B-BBEE framework cannot become a paper exercise in which nominal ownership, directorship or management representation substitutes for genuine economic participation and effective control.

Public Interest SA therefore calls upon the B-BBEE Commission, SANRAL, the Department of Transport, CIPC and the Department of Home Affairs, within their respective mandates, to establish the facts comprehensively and transparently.

If everything is above board, the investigation will provide the company with an opportunity to demonstrate that. If it is not, those responsible must be held accountable.

ENDS

Issued by Public Interest SA