Johannesburg – The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy says it has noted with concern reports in relation to the appointment of an additional preferred bidder under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) Bid Window 6.
A department statement said that in an article by “Green Building Africa”, it was alleged that the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, quietly appointed an additional preferred bidder under this last REIPPPP bid window, insinuating that this appointment is not above board.
"The department wishes to correct sensationalised reporting by Mr Groenendaal in this regard. In fact, the director general appointed the 6th preferred bidder, the Ngonyama Solar PV Project, on March 23, 2023, and confirmation of this appointment was published on all platforms as required in the PFMA procurement regulations. The minister and ministry are not involved in any decisions regarding the appointment of preferred bidders," read the statement.
The statement added that the appointment was confirmed after Mantashe initially announced five preferred bidders on December 8, 2022, amounting to 860MW.
The department said that Mantashe informed the public at that time that an eligible 6th bidder had been identified and that it was in discussion with the potential bidder on conditions for appointment to fill the remaining gap up to 1000MW Solar PV capacity, as required by the Request for Proposal (RFP).
"Following further evaluation of the supplementary information provided by the potential bidder, the IPP Office and department’s Bid Adjudication Committee recommended to the director-general the appointment of the Ngonyama Solar PV Project as the 6th preferred bidder under this bid window, which increased the procured megawatts to the maximum 1000MW solar PV," said the department.
The department pointed out that the evaluation was conducted by the same independent evaluation committee that recommended the initial five preferred bidders and was therefore entirely within the prescripts of both the RFP and the public procurement legislation.
According to the department, they continue to assure the public that the IPP procurement process is concluded independently and strictly in line with the constitutional principles applicable to public procurement, namely fairness, equitability, transparency, competitiveness, and cost-effectiveness, and that no individual in either the ministry or the epartment has any role in the evaluation of bids.
"The sixth round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP Bid Window 6) is the second bid window to be procured in response to the Second Ministerial Determination. The bid window called for new generation capacity of 4 200MW, made up of 3200MW of wind energy resources and 1000MW solar photovoltaic energy resources," said the department.
The Star