The official Opposition will be lodging a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application in connection with all tenders secured by Thalami Civils.
This comes as the party says six other multimillion-rand contracts given to Thalami Civils have come to the surface and are raising serious concern.
DA provincial spokesperson on co-operative governance in the Eastern Cape Vicky Knoetze said the R15-million Lesseyton sports field in the Enoch Mgijima Municipality appears to be just the tip of the iceberg, as more and more questionable contracts have been discovered.
Knoetze said projects which the DA will be reviewing as part of the Tender Watch Eastern Cape initiative include the water supply scheme in the Amathole District Municipality, quoted at R41m; Centane Taxi Rank in the Mnquma Municipality, priced at R6.8m; phase two of the Sakhisizwe sports field in the Sakhisizwe local municipality, with a price tag of R5.4m, completed in 2020; and the Theko Kona Outdoor Sports Facility priced at R4.4m, to name a few.
“Discrepancies in the amounts allocated to the projects above have also been picked up, with the Mnquma Municipality’s 2016/17 Annual Report listing the Centani Taxi rank at R6.8m, the Theko Kona facilities at R4.4m, and the Mpukane Community Hall at R3.6m.
“This is in sharp contrast to Thalami Civils’s company profile, which puts the values at R64m, R56m and R35m respectively. Thalami lists the Sakhisizwe sports field project at R7.5m on their profile, whereas the municipality reported it as R5.4m,” Knoetze said.
She added that the PAIA applications will be relating to every tender awarded to Thalami Civils at both local, district and provincial government level.
“Once this documentation has been received, we will review it and will, wherever possible, follow up with criminal charges, which may include theft, fraud, corruption and collusion,” Knoetze said.
Political Bureau