The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) is “shocked” at the findings of the Auditor General on allegations of irregular expenditure and flaws in the awarding of tenders totalling more than one billion rand by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
However, the trade union federation added that it was “very encouraging” to see such a determined and vigorous attempt to uncover the abuse of tender procedures and also the prompt response of transport MEC Ismail Vadi, who had immediately taken action to rectify the problem.
The tenders in question related to the provision of security to departmental buildings (49 million rand); the Intelligent number plate project (1.3 million rand); the establishment of new Driver-Learner Testing Stations and a turn-around strategy for these (35 million rand); the installation of a biometric verification system (four million rand); construction and renovation at Derek Masoek Centre (20 million rand); and the construction of roads (900 million rand over three years).
Cosatu said on Wednesday that the Auditor General had exposed “a systematic weakness in the department's supply chain management process and poor quality of reporting”.
The Auditor General had found that the process followed when awarding the contracts was flawed and he suggested that “actions by some officials might have amounted to a conflict of interest”.
Cosatu added that bidders had not been sufficiently rated and no evaluation of different bidders had taken place, which led to incorrect ranking and higher value contracts.
As a result of the flawed process, the five successful bidders for the security tender were awarded contracts while they should have been disqualified at the preliminary evaluation stage. Therefore, these bidders had received contracts which they had not been entitled to.
On the roads construction contract, the Auditor General revealed that the department prepared and issued letters of appointment to the three service providers even though no funds were available.
Vadi told a press briefing on Wednesday that the department had not known how much the entire road construction project was going to cost as there were no bills of quantities.
The head of department also did not ensure that proper procurement processes were followed as she failed to wait for the approval of the MEC for finance.
Cosatu said it welcomed the recommendation that the department should declare these tenders null and void.
“They must follow up on the report and uncover who is responsible for the abuses the Auditor General has uncovered, and those responsible staff members should be brought before a disciplinary enquiry and those found guilty should face exemplary penalties.”
Cosatu added that it hoped the issue was further proof that government at all levels was tackling the problem of the looting of public funds with the seriousness it deserved.
“All companies found to have been awarded tenders improperly should be blacklisted by the department and government, in line with the excellent precedent set by the minister of finance in Limpopo.”
Cosatu said it would - together with its affiliates - continue to blow the whistle on corruption and the misuse of the people's money.
“We will be seeking an urgent meeting with the department to ensure that we access the report to enable us to see that justice has been done in the investigation.” - I-Net Bridge