THE City of Tshwane has undertaken a probe into allegations that municipal manager Moeketsi Mosola unlawfully awarded a tender to an engineering consultancy GladAfrica to oversee infrastructure projects.
Mayor Solly Msimanga said the probe was already under way long before the claims were published. “I am nevertheless mystified by the ANC’s hypocritical call to investigate corruption when it is this DA-led multiparty government that had taken several contracts concluded by the previous ANC administration on judicial review,” he said.
This was after the ANC in Tshwane called for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to probe the awarding of a controversial contract.
The official opposition called for an investigation after it was reported that Mosola hand-picked a company from a list of service providers he obtained from the Development Bank of Southern Africa, suggesting he failed to follow legal procurement processes.
The company had reportedly pocketed R250million in consultancy fees from the city’s roads and transport division since
it was appointed in November.
Reports said the work of the company entailed overseeing infrastructure projects worth R12billion.
Such projects included the city's bus rapid transport system, Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant, and all road maintenance and construction projects, the reports suggested.
ANC regional chairperson Kgoi Maepa said the recent scandal was the biggest in the history of local sphere of government in Africa.
“This DA-led government scan-
dal has broken all records of existing corruption scandals in the history of local sphere of government in Africa.
"The president must immediately sign an SIU investigation, instruct that the municipality be put under administration and appoint an administrator with immediate effect,” he said.
Maepa expressed shock at the revelation, saying the country had never seen the scale of what was reported in the City.
“One company was illegally awarded a consulting contract by the city manager to run the entire R12bn Capex budget and earn R1.2bn for overseeing the normal course of Integrated Development Plan projects via a ‘sham project management unit’ and illegally allocate work to its sole preferred contractors,” he said.
The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) also expressed its disappointment at what it termed “the recent looting of the City”.
Samwu regional secretary Mpho Tladinyane said the union had learnt that GladAfrica charged exorbitant amounts of money, and in some cases for work that had not been done.
“Of major concern is that the appointment of GladAfrica was against the advice of the city’s legal compliance division, which indicated that it will be unlawful to appoint such a company when it had only three months remaining in its Development Bank of Southern Africa contract,” Tladinyane said. He claimed all city officials who refused to approve GladAfrica invoices were threatened and victimised.
He said the union demanded that the mayor and the council conduct a thorough investigation on how the company was appointed.
“Whoever is in the wrong must be suspended and dealt with in line with the disciplinary code.
"We cannot allow a situation where the city is looted of billions of rand to benefit some municipal officials and their cronies whereas workers are subjected to non-provision of personal protection equipment, non-payment of overtime and harsh working conditions,” Tladinyane added.
However, Msimanga said a number of concerns were raised with him about the tender before the media reported on it.
“This prompted me to ask our legal adviser to investigate the matter, as to determine whether there is cause to intervene,” he said.
Msimanga said he sought explanations from Mosola regarding the awarding of a tender.
He wanted to know about how the contract was procured, the tender specifications, and the management of financial and operational risks to the city.
“I have since received these responses from the city manager and I, in consultation with the relevant officials, am studying the explanations given by the city manager, and will decide on an urgent basis whether this matter is to be referred to the municipal council for disciplinary investigation and action,” he said.