THE metro has welcomed and agreed to fully co-operate with the office of the Public Protector into alleged tender irregularities linked to the city manager, Khaya Ngema.
Ngema, according to reports, is implicated in tender irregularities that total almost R109-million after he allegedly signed off and awarded contracts to repair roads and pavements to bidders who have close ties to senior municipal officials.
It is also alleged that he signed off on contracts worth over R10-million without consultation.
“As a metro we take these matters serious and will fully co-operate with the Public Protector’s office. Furthermore, we will accept the findings of this investigation,” said Mandlakazi Mpahlwa-Sigcawu, divisional head of media relations.
According to Mpahlwa-Sigcawu, one of the municipality’s key strategic priorities is good governance, which clearly shows their intention to get rid of any sort of corruption in the metro.
“We already have a good working relationship with the Special Investigations Unit because we are committed to fighting the scourge of fraud and corruption in our city,” she added.
The metro’s supply chain management processes, which are guided by National Treasury, are:
All tenders above R200 000 are advertised and subjected to a competitive bid process.
The bid evaluation committee evaluates the bid and makes its recommendations to the bid adjudication committee.
The bid adjudication committee then adjudicates the bid and if it is less than R10-million, they make a final award.
If it is over R10-million, they make a recommendation to the city manager who then applies himself and makes a decision based on the bid adjudication committee’s recommendation.
DA Shadow MMC for roads and transport, Bill Rundle, is concerned that this fraud expressed his concern that Ekurhuleni residents were stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“While corruption and fraud are being investigated and moratoriums are imposed, there is still no delivery of decent roads,” he said.
He had noticed that repairs and maintenance of roads in the metro had come to a standstill. Questions to ascertain reasons for this, posed to MMC Thumbu Mahlangu, elicited only vague and evasive answers.
“The lack of response from officials raised obvious red flags which led the DA to believe there was some kind of cover-up in place.
“Several sites in Etwatwa, Daveyton and Esselen Park ext 3 were started but not completed, which have been hugely inconvenient for residents. Storm water projects in flood areas have been hanging in the air for two years, despite a directive from a tribunal in 2012 to commence and complete the work as a matter of urgency.
“The court interdict preventing the metro from awarding any further contracts in certain areas explains a great deal. While the DA obviously supports a moratorium on the awarding of tenders while possible corruption is uncovered and resolved, the delays don’t help residents and motorists see or feel any difference in the roads they are using,” Rundle said.
