R145,000 a month for protection and a R1m bakkie gift: Sibanyoni explains Gubis85 deal at Madlanga Commission - IOL

Taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni has testified at the Madlanga Commission on Monday.

Taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni has told the Madlanga Commission that Gubis85 Solutions was paid R145,000 a month, including VAT, for VIP protection, while he also received a bakkie worth about R1 million as a gift from the same company.

This has put the company’s lucrative relationship with the taxi industry under intense scrutiny.

Sibanyoni told the commission on Monday that Gubis85 had provided protection services to the Pretoria Mabopane Pietersburg Taxi Association and related entities since March 2024.

“The monthly fee for these services, at the rate of R145,000.00 (VAT inclusive) per month, is commercially reasonable, market-related and entirely proportionate to the security requirements of a senior industry leader operating in an environment characterised by demonstrably high levels of violence and threat.

“I have been the subject of credible threats to my personal safety within the taxi industry and the security arrangement with Gubis85 is a direct and necessary response to those threats,” he said.

The arrangement means payments of roughly R1.7 million over a year, a figure that drew questioning from chairperson retired Deputy Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

Madlanga also questioned Sibanyoni about the separate bakkie gift and how it fit into his relationship with Gubis85.

Sibanyoni said his longstanding personal relationship with the company’s owner provided context for the gift.

According to documents presented to the commission, Gubis85 issued sequential monthly tax invoices for its VIP protection services, beginning with an invoice covering March 15 to March 31, 2024, and continuing through July 2026.

The taxi association made payments into Gubis85’s ABSA account against those invoices.

Sibanyoni maintained that the security arrangement was a legitimate commercial transaction rather than a mechanism for providing improper benefits.

In his account to the commission, he said he had faced credible threats and that the protection was a direct response to the risks associated with his position in the taxi industry.

The bakkie, meanwhile, was presented under different circumstances.

A March 1, 2025 letter from Gubis85 stated that the company had voluntarily decided to give Sibanyoni the vehicle as a birthday present, citing its longstanding relationship and goodwill with him and the Joe Sibanyoni Foundation.

“Gubis85 wrote to me on March 1, 2025, confirming that Gubis85 had voluntarily decided to present a bakkie as a birthday gift to me in recognition of the longstanding relationship and goodwill between Gubis85, myself and the Joe Sibanyoni Foundation,” he said.

The letter stated that the gift was not consideration for a contract, favour, procurement opportunity or other commercial benefit.

But the broader Gubis85 relationship is under examination as the commission probes allegations surrounding security contracts and payments involving the company.

Gubis85 has been accused of benefiting from irregular tender payments and a multimillion-rand City of Tshwane security contract allegedly awarded without proper authorisation, evaluation or oversight.

The commission’s scrutiny therefore extends beyond the stated value of the protection services to the circumstances surrounding the business relationship, payments and the substantial vehicle gift.

Sibanyoni’s evidence seeks to frame both as legitimate and properly documented. The commission is examining the evidence and circumstances surrounding the relationship.