Durban - The provision of a number of services by the eThekwini Municipality will be delayed after tender documents were torn and strewn around the Old Fort Complex on Friday.
This brought to a standstill the processing of 16 contracts, which will have to be re-advertised.
The boxes were within the Old Fort Complex, but not inside a building. The incident happened during the day, but it is not clear why the perpetrators were not stopped in the act.
The services being tendered for included fixing electricity stations, grasscutting, delivery of the municipal newspaper, rehabilitation of a soccer field and sewer upgrades.
Reports were that the Delangokubona Business Forum was behind the destruction of the documents, but the forum distanced itself from the incident.
City manager Sipho Nzuza said the tender boxes were at the Engineering Building in the complex.
He said the city was in the process of identifying the culprits.
“We have opened a case with the SAPS and are conducting intensive investigations using our CCTV footage,” Nzuza said.
The group seized important and confidential documents from the boxes and littered the streets with it.
Andre Peterson, head of supply chain management, said the awarding of some tenders would be affected by the incident.
“We are aware that certain tenders are affected by this incident and we will keep the public informed of the developments. This incident has now hindered our processes and affects our timelines. We call on people to meet with us if they are facing any challenges or if they need any assistance,” Peterson said.
Bhamuza Mnyandu, chairperson of Delangokubona, distanced his organisation from the disruption. He said there were people who used the forum as a scapegoat.
“If we feel there’s unfairness in the manner in which tenders are handled, we get involved immediately. We don’t wait until tender documents are submitted and the process is almost done. We understand that there was an investigation into some of the tenders and the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) was closing in, and then the perpetrators decided to destroy the tender documents. This is political so people must stop involving us where we don’t belong. Tender documents are now destroyed, so there’s no evidence to be gathered by the CIIU,” Mnyandu said.
CIIU head Mbuso Ngcobo said they were dealing with many cases in the supply chain unit.
“I can’t tell offhand if we were investigating some of the tenders. I’m not in the office so I can’t verify this.”