The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS) bought three land parcels on 13 March 2019, handing an instant paper profit of R158m to Landworth, a company owned by real estate mogul Ralebala Mampeule, reports News24.

Landworth bought the land parcels for R86.25m from another developer, Jordi Properties, and then charged the department R244.95m, including VAT, although Landworth was later persuaded to put up a R50m guarantee to cover the cost of improvements that Landworth had been contracted to deliver.

The 63.9-hectare land parcels are part of the farm Zuurfontein. They are proposed for the development of Eagles Nest township in Vanderbijlpark, situated in the Emfuleni Local Municipality, south of Gauteng.

Landworth disputes that it unduly inflated the price. In fact, the company's director, Mampeule, said he gave the department a ‘discount’.

‘We reiterate that the price that you purchase the land at has nothing to do with the price that you sell it for, if there is a willing buyer and a willing seller, and there are valuations from registered evaluators that justify your transaction,’ Mampeule said.

Full News24 report