‘We won’t be held ransom’ – City of Ekurhuleni slams business lobby

A mid the ongoing stoppage of waste trucks in the City of Ekurhuleni, which has brought garbage collection to a halt in Vosloorus and Katlehong – talks between metro officials and representatives of the Mzansi Business Association collapsed yesterday.

Leaders of the association walked out of the meeting with the Ekurhuleni delegation, led by member of the mayoral committee for environment and waste management Khosi Mabaso, having failed to reach consensus on key areas of concern, according to chairman Clement Molobela.

Molobela said metro officials “failed to provide clarity on how the city planned to empower members of the community with business and job opportunities”.

He said: “They were not prepared to give us information requested or address our concerns around corruption.

“The 30% mentioned by mayor Mzwandile Masina in his tweet is not the main issue. The gist of the matter is us as members of the community being given business and job opportunities by the city, as well as concerns over corrupt activities.

“Whenever there are issues, the mayor does not want to personally get involved in addressing them, except through Twitter. He cannot always live by Twitter.”

Rebutting allegations of corruption, Masina blamed The Citizen for “disinformation”.

He said: “The city has not issued a waste removal tender since 2016. A new waste removal tender is to be advertised in June 2021.

“There are certain business forums disrupting service delivery operations with nefarious motives. They argue they are entitled to any business opportunities presented by the state on the basis of the 30% subcontracting procurement guidelines.

“However, regulation 9 of the Preferential Procurement Regulations of 2017 stipulates the organ of state must make available the list of all suppliers registered on a database approved by the National Treasury to provide the goods or services, in respect of the applicable designated groups from which the bidder must select a supplier.

“The legislation that regulates public procurement is Section 217 of the Constitution, which requires that when an organ of state contracts for goods and services, it must do so in accordance with principles of fairness, equability, transparency, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness.

“The City of Ekurhuleni prides itself on upholding the rule of law and an unwavering commitment to constitutionality.

“This is evident in the last auditor-general results that found the city had incurred zero fruitless, wasteful and unauthorised expenditure for the 2019-2020 financial year. The city will not be held to ransom by felonious individuals masquerading as business forums who are determined to undermine this administration’s good work.”

brians@citizen.co.za

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