Zille hails tender finding

Western Cape premier Helen Zille. Photo: Ayanda Ndamane

Western Cape premier Helen Zille. Photo: Ayanda Ndamane

Published Jun 1, 2012

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 Western Cape premier Helen Zille on Friday welcomed the Public Protector's finding that there was no evidence of unlawfulness in her government awarding a branding contract to agency TBWA.

“The report shows, above all, that the entire exercise was a storm in a teacup stirred up by our political opponents,” she told reporters in Cape Town.

“The entire affair was a waste of the Public Protector's time and cost the South African taxpayer hundreds of thousands of rand at least, that could have been better spent on service delivery.”

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela announced on Friday that she made four findings of maladministration but none of unlawfulness, which meant she would not recommend that the contract was invalid or should be cancelled.

Zille said the report found no corruption and political involvement, interference or manipulation in the procurement process. She was also not personally involved in the process.

She said it was found that the presence of two special advisers on the tender bid evaluation committee had made no difference to the outcome of the evaluation.

Madonsela found that some administrative processes in managing transversal tenders, those which involved various government departments and strict Treasury regulations, were faulty.

Zille said the provincial treasury had picked up these faults long beforehand and steps were taken to rectify them.

Madonsela was asked by, among others, the ANC in the Western Cape to investigate whether the department of the provincial premier had employed proper demand side management regarding procurement of the contract.

She had to find out whether failure to do so had resulted in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, whether the department had kept proper records of proceedings of the bid evaluation committee, and whether the appointment of two special advisers to the committee which awarded the contract was legal. – Sapa

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