Johannesburg - Pikitup boss Amanda Nair paid R450 000 of ratepayers’ money to dispute articles in The Star about how she awarded a multimillion-rand tender to a company allegedly implicated in fraud.
The Star can reveal that Nair forked out R450 000 to take out full-page adverts in the Daily Sun, Sowetan, Business Day and The Citizen to defend her stance in granting a tender worth R263-million to Aqua Transport and Plant Hire.
This was after The Star revealed how a company implicated in fraud by Ernst & Young was awarded the multimillion-rand tender.
The audit firm recommended that Pikitup lay criminal charges against Aqua and that the company should repay the money it had overcharged the utility.
Pikitup spokeswoman Pansy Oyedele said there would be a legal review. “The board has resolved to institute an independent legal review of all processes and the awarding of the tender.
“We are therefore unable to respond until the investigation has been concluded.”
It was still not clear when the company that would investigate the Aqua tender issue would be appointed.
Sources within Pikitup said Nair came under fire for misleading the board by saying the adverts would promote Pikitup projects, not dispute articles by The Star.
“They wanted to know why she had spent so much money on adverts disputing reports about how she awarded a tender to Aqua because nobody had given her permission to do that,” one source said.
Another Pikitup senior manager, who wanted to remain anonymous, said Nair should be suspended.
“How can someone have so many scandals and still be allowed to continue dragging the company’s name through the mud?
“This woman is too controversial. How do they expect people to testify against Amanda about how she awarded a tender when she is there? Obviously they will be intimidated,” he said.
The Star