Gauteng govt wants answers about mayor’s ‘heavy hand’ in multi-billion deal
The mayor is accused of exerting 'undue political influence' to have an unsolicited offer of R48.6-billion from an Australian energy service provider for refurbishment, operating and maintenance of the Pretoria West and Rooiwal power substations.
The provincial government has given the Tshwane mayor seven days to answer to allegations of “undue political influence” in a multi-billion rand unsolicited energy bid before it investigates.
The bid, set to be open for public participation, has not been approved yet.
Energy service company Kratos Energy submitted an unsolicited proposal – a closed offer by a sole provider not open to public tender – to refurbish, finance, operate and maintain the Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations for 30 years.
According to Kratos, the stations will be leased to the metro for the next three decades. The metro will not incur any capital expenditure in the project.
Williams is accused of bullying officials to approve the bid despite their concerns about the deal’s possible flawed supply chain management (SCM) processes.
National Treasury policy is that unsolicited bids may only be approved for services that are “innovative, unique and provided by a sole supplier”.
The officials had proposed an open tender because they asserted that the service by Kratos was not unique.
The EFF released a recording of a metro meeting held in August 2021 in which Williams is heard saying, “it is the role of the executive authority to take strategic decisions and the role of the administration to implement those decisions whether they agree or disagree… the administration does not have the right to oppose a decision taken by the executive”.
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Gauteng Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Lebogang Maile said he has requested Williams to respond to the allegations in a formal letter within seven days.
Maile said the alleged action against Williams and his office could be considered interference with SCM processes, “of which the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) patently prohibits councillors from doing”.
“The allegations are deemed very serious with far-reaching ramifications on the integrity and governance of the office of the executive mayor and the municipality,” Maile said.
He said his government was considering investigating Williams’ conduct but a decision would be announced after he has responded.
Maile said that “it is appropriate before exercising my powers to afford the mayor an opportunity, to provide me, within seven days of receipt of my letter, a comprehensive response to all the allegations levelled against [him] and his office”.
Cogta spokesperson Castro Ngobese said the department could not preempt what consequences Williams would face should he be found guilty.
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Williams denied wrongdoing or unlawful interference in SCM processes and said the Kratos offer was a good investment for the metro.
“It is simply an investment proposal that the metro received to lease the City’s land, which we intended to take for public participation.
“The metro’s power stations have not been in use since 2014. These are over 70-year-old coal-fired power stations that have systematically aged and become obsolete over the years.
“The metro simply does not have the immense funding required to put them into operation again and we must explore options that would allow the metro to move forward with energy generation.
“The report I placed before council but later withdrew contained very simple recommendations, with the first being a request to take the land lease proposal to our residents for public participation.”
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