Pretoria - ActionSA has accused the DA-led Tshwane administration of having known about allegations of irregularities in a R2 billion contract to upgrade the Rooiwal Waste Water Works from as far back as 2019.
This followed last week’s announcement by MMC for finance, Peter Sutton, that mayor Randall Williams asked for a formal investigation into any irregularities of the tender with a 90-day deadline.
Sutton said the investigation followed concerns raised about the supply chain processes for the phase 1 tendering process.
ActionSA’s ward 96 councillor Hannes Coetzee said “the sudden move” to investigate the tender was “disingenuous at best” because the DA-led administration had known about the allegations.
“As a DA ward councillor since 2011, I have raised the issues of the tender awarding for the Rooiwal plant since 2019 to mayor Randall Williams. On all occasions it was brushed aside with disinterest while residents in my ward and neighbouring communities continue to live with water that is unsafe for human or animal consumption,” he said.
Coetzee, who recently dumped the DA, said he had on multiple occasions brought “facts” about the tender to the attention of the mayor.
According to him, he told Williams that neither of the companies owned by businessman Edwin Sodi in the joint venture awarded tenders were registered as suppliers on the municipality’s database. He questioned the experience of the companies in the kind of infrastructure project under way at Rooiwal.
“The joint venture did not have the required funds for site establishment. The City of Tshwane paid R1 million upfront to float the costs of site establishment in contravention of City policies and the Municipal Finance Management Act,” Coetzee said.
According to him, the joint venture – in contravention of the supply chain policies of the City of Tshwane – had to cede R71m upfront because it lacked the resources for the initial capital outlay.
“When the bid adjudication committee cancelled the award of the tender in light of the above, the City of Tshwane did not oppose the legal proceedings of the joint venture – which is how its appointment was made legal,” Coetzee said.
Last week Sutton said: “This contract was previously challenged in court but was successfully defended. Nonetheless, a formal investigation assists in further scrutiny. Should this investigation identify irregularities the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”
Coetzee said ActionSA brought to the council a motion requiring an independent forensic investigation to be initiated and the outcomes reported to the council within 90 days.
“Inexplicably, the motion was denied the opportunity to be served before all councillors and was referred to the executive mayor with the exact requirements of ActionSA’s motion.
“What demonstrated the insincerity of this poorly choreographed effort was a media statement issued by the MMC for finance announcing the investigation that morning – clearly with the knowledge of what would transpire later in council,” he said.
The ageing Rooiwal plant has for years come in for criticism for being the source of dirty water consumed by people in Hammanskraal, owing to its lack of capacity to purify wastewater, resulting in the sludge being discharged into the Apies River.
Coetzee said: “The residents of my ward and surrounding communities have suffered for nearly 20 years from the human, agricultural and ecological disaster unfolding from the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant spewing raw sewage into the Apies River and surrounding water table. They have been let down by consecutive governments who have failed these communities.”
Pretoria News