Are these the companies that were set to benefit from e-tolling? According to tender bid documentation submitted by the Electronic Toll Collection joint venture, there were four main companies it had signed agreements with to implement the project: Tolcon Lehumo, Blue Label Telecoms, GijimaAST and Bankserv Africa.
The expertise of these SA companies, and others that were mentioned, were used in bid documents to win the contracts. The documents, which have never been revealed before, indicate that confidentiality agreements were signed.
Only a few companies confirmed to The Star that they had received contracts, the rest denied any involvement in the toll project. None would reveal the contract amounts.
Angelique Serrao looks at who was set to benefit at the time of the tender bid and asks why, as many companies allege, they did not get the contracts after the tender was won.
And if they were not awared these tenders, who was?
Who is Sanral?
THE SA National Roads Agency Ltd was established in April 1998 by an act of Parliament as an independent statutory company operating along commercial lines and at arm’s length from the government.
The purpose of the company, which is registered in terms of the Companies Act, with the minister of transport as the sole shareholder, is to maintain and develop SA’s expanding national road network (currently 18 247km) and to manage assets with an estimated value of more than R6.5 billion (excluding land). It is responsible for the e-toll project.
Tolplan
A local road engineering company that did the initial feasibility studies for e-tolling and its costing. It also conceptualised and engineered the project, including the design of the gantries. It was in charge of the tender process along with another firm, Toll Infrastructure Services, to operate e-tolling.
Tolplan managed the building of the gantries and is the manager in charge of operation of the system.
Key personnel: The MD is Willem Pienaar. Other directors are Alan Human, Anesh Mayas, Charles Vorster, Eugene Xolani Malaza, Petrus Haasbroek and Rui da Silva.
Electronic Toll Collection joint venture
THE electronic Toll Collection joint venture (ETC) is the main contractor to build and operate the tolls. It is a joint venture between TMT Services and Supplies and Kapsch TrafficCom.
Swedish and Austrian branches of Kapsch TrafficCom, an international supplier of intelligent transportation systems, hold stakes of 40 percent and 25 percent of ETC respectively.
TMT Services and Supplies, an SA company, holds 35 percent.
Seven months after Sanral’s announcement of the tender award, Kapsch announced that it had increased its shares in TMT to 51.43 percent.
Kapsch Sweden was, before 2000, a company known as Combitech Traffic Systems, which was owned by Saab Aerospace (the company that was involved in the arms deal, having won a contract to supply Gripen jets). In 2000, Combitech Traffic Systems was sold to Kapsch TrafficCom AG, a company based in Austria that is an international supplier of electronic toll collection systems.
TMT (Traffic Management Technologies) has been contracted by most SA municipalities to run their traffic fines and speed camera equipment.
The company has also won a R200 million contract to run the Rea Vaya ticketing system in Joburg.
TMT started in 2002 when Douglas Davey, a civil engineer specialising in traffic technology, joined with Johan du Toit, a traffic chief, and Neil Louwrens, a state advocate, to start the business.
All three still hold senior positions in TMT today and remain shareholders.
Their shares are held through family trusts – Zoey Trust, Gelaman Trust and the DT Transfin Trust – which they control. In 2004 the three original shareholders sold 51 percent of TMT shares to Matemeku, which is controlled by Moss Mashishi, a well-known businessman based in Joburg.
Companies connected to ETC
Under these main contracts certain companies at the time of the tender bid were said to have signed key partnership agreements with ETC joint venture to work on different parts of the project. These are:
Pre-tender documents indicate Tolcon Lehumo was originally meant to be a part of the ETC joint venture instead of TMT, with a 10 percent financial share, but this did not work out because the company joined other joint ventures that bid for the main e-tolling tender.
Sources close to the project and ETC tender application documents reveal that Tolcon was still heavily involved in the project as a subcontractor in charge of facilities maintenance of the Sanral offices, most staff training and road contractor management. The company denies any involvement with the project.
Tolcon Lehumo is an SA toll operator that is owned by Murray & Roberts which won numerous contracts to build the roads in the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. The company describes itself on its website as having a strong relationship with Sanral and as a contractor in the Gautrain project.
Shareholders: the Lehumo Women’s Investment Trust, Marib Holdings and Thebe Tourism.
GijimaAST is an SA information technology company listed on the JSE. The company made headlines when a failed Home Affairs Department contract came to light that had escalated from R1.5 billion to R4bn and which it failed to complete.
The company has refused to reveal the worth of its e-tolling contract, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
GijimaAST is involved in the call centre, human capital and information and communication technology services of the e-tolling project.
The company’s most well-known director is Robert Gumede, an ANC benefactor and businessman. He is open about his financial backing of the ANC and is a friend of ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa.
Michael Campbell of Blue Label Telecoms denied having any contracts related to the e-tolling project. But tender bid documentation shows that the company was in line to distribute electronic tokens, mainly prepaid airtime, and had signed a deal with ETC that included a non-disclosure agreement.
The company was said, in tender bid documents, to be the prepaid voucher vendor, and responsible for payment clearing and switch, call centre services, and temporary and permanent kiosk supply for account registrations and management. Blue Label distributes starter packs for Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom. The firm also distributes tickets for the Gautrain.
Directors: Brett Levy, Mark Levy, Mark Pamensky, David Rivkind, Gary Harlow, Laurence Nestadt, Kevin Ellerine, Joe Mthimunye, Neil Lazarus and SJ Vilakazi.
Absa was named in bid documents as the bank of choice to deal with general banking, transaction clearing and management and ATM solutions. Absa has denied winning any contracts related to e-tolls.
Bankserv is the largest transaction clearing house in Africa. According to bid documents, as a settlement and management specialist, it was meant to be involved in transactions clearing and additional services for e-tolling.
Michael Rubenstein said Bankserv Africa submitted a tender bid for the project, but was unsuccessful and it played no further role.
Anton Mayberry of Opengate said the company had been hired to distribute its on-board units to certain retailers, which would sell the product to consumers.
“The company also provides a technical solution (transaction processing), that enables commuters to reload their tolling accounts within a retail store (like paying for a bill or utility).”
Emer-G-med, which partnered with First Road Towing, provides the emergency accident response service. When asked the contract value for its services, Emer-G-Med director Wayne Grindell said: “That isn’t going to happen. You won’t be told that.”
Magna-Carta is the PR and marketing firm that has been dealing with Sanral’s media queries. It was sent questions on the subcontracts, including its own, but did not respond.
Protea Coin, a subsidiary of Mvelaserve, won the contract to provide security services to the head office, satellite centres and gantries during the construction phase, according to Mvelaserve CEO Martin Scheepers.
Directors: Mikki Sivuyile Macmillan Xayiya, who was a policy adviser to the premier and the Gauteng government before joining the company; Jorge Manuel Soares De Alberga Ferreira, who started Protea Coin; and Gilbert Ernst Röth, who worked in the financial sector and the office of the auditor-general. A non-executive director is Gary Harlow, who is also a director at Blue Label Telecoms.
The Star