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Businesswoman, Andrea Wessels who is accused of fraud, corruption, and money laundering related to Nelson Mandela Bay's Integrated Public Transport System, is fit enough to stand trial.
This comes after the Gqeberha High Court received additional medical test results after Wessels was unable to attend court proceedings due to her alleged ill health.
Her General Practioner, Dr. Coenraad van Schoor, was ordered to fly from Johannesburg on Monday to testify on his patient's condition after the court received two opening-ended medical certificates.
He told the court that Wessels had been presenting severe symptoms associated with a chronic bleeding peptic ulcer.
Dr Van Schoor told the court that Wessels had presented symptoms associated with lung problems therefore she would be unable to travel to Gqeberha unless it is on a priority one ambulance.
Although he had taken her blood work which showed that she had been bleeding, van Schoor had been unable to officially diagnose Wessels via an endoscopy due to the unavailability of funds, and the now unemployed businesswoman had refused to admit herself into the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital because it's a State Facility.
The State called gastroenterologist Dr. James Garisch to testify on Wessels' medical records and he told the court that further tests would have to be done to determine whether she could travel to Gqeberha to consult with an attorney and subsequently stand trial.
Dr. Garisch told the court on Thursday that Wessels' condition had improved meaning that there was no reason why Wessels could not travel via air or land to Gqeberha.
Meanwhile, her legal aid attorney Khaya Saziwa asked the court to give his client more time to prepare travel arrangements due to financial constraints.
He said Wessels has been unemployed and she is dependent on her daughter financially. Saziwa also asked the court to grant him more time to consult with Wessels but Judge Phillip Zilwa did not budge.
Zilwa said the delays caused by Wessels were already prejudicial to her other eight co-accused in the matter.
He said Wessels could not be given the luxury of more time to prepare to travel to Gqeberha.
While Saziwa had asked the court to postpone the matter until the 10th of February, Judge Zilwa said the trial will start on the 6th of February which would be enough time for Saziwa to consult with his client.
Wessels and eight others including former ANC regional secretary, Zandisile Qupe, face 140 counts of corruption, fraud and money laundering related to the IPTS. It is the State's case that all of the accused colluded to line their own pockets with money meant for the city's beleaguered IPTS.
All of the accused are out on R100 000 bail.
