Treasury has asked questions about the City of Johannesburg's plan to spend billions of rands on leasing properties while it refurbishes its offices, but the city has already approved it.

In a near-bankrupt and hobbled city where homeless people sleep in bus shelters and on the streets, the City of Johannesburg has passed a plan to spend R1.4-billion on high-cost property leases and an additional R2-billion (rising to R12-billion) to renovate the Metro Centre.

Whistle-blowers at the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC) have told DA chief whip Leah Knott that the majority of the leases are going to ANC property mogul Lonwabo Sambudla, a favoured contractor.

A spokesperson for his company, Bayete Capital, said they had not heard anything from the JPC and that they had tendered along with other companies. Sambudla is a longstanding ANC member and former CEO of the ANC Youth League's Lembede Investments.

An ANC Soweto branch chairperson, Enos Sithole, chairs the JPC board, Sunday Times reported in September.

JPC spokesperson Lucky Sindane said last week: "The city is currently finalising the evaluation process of the Metro Centre office accommodation. The [executive adjudication committee] considered a report of the bid evaluation committee. The report was then recommended to the Accounting Officer (City Manager) for his approval. We are still awaiting (his) approval."

Asked if the National Treasury had alerted it to a tender bid review because...