Alleged tender irregularities keep Public Protector on the hop

The Public Protector and the Hawks in the Free State are investigating how and why a R123m tender was awarded to a company that was in the process of being deregistered, states a report in The Sunday Independent. It notes that at the centre of the inquiry is why it took the Free State Health Department seven months to award a tender to supply coal to hospitals in the province to Gauteng-based company Seasons Find 984. According to the report, the department had postponed the decision to award the tender five times between May 2011 and January this year. Elzabe Rockman, DG in the office of Free State Premier Ace Magashule would not comment on the allegations, but said the investigation was complete and had highlighted deficiencies in the tender awarding process. According to the report, Seasons Find 984 director Magdeline Mathivha said no Free State government department or police unit had questioned her company or documents that were submitted in the tender, states the report which quotes her as saying: 'When I submitted my tender everything was in order. We had a valid tender.' Full report in The Sunday Independent (subscription needed)

A Moneyweb report notes the City of Tshwane has responded to allegations of widespread financial malpractice, which extend to instances of tender fraud, valued at R1bn. The allegations were contained in a DA report, which was filed with National Treasury, South African Revenue Service and the Auditor-General in September. According to the report, the Metro confirmed that Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa had been handed a copy of a report. 'The Executive Mayor publicly announced at the council meeting of October 25 2012 that he is rejecting this report as most of the allegations are based on wrong and false information.' The DA's report accuses key Tshwane officials and the ANC of receiving kickbacks linked to the awarding of tenders while the metropolitan authority has been accused of mismanaging its finances by, in part, acquiring long-term debt to fund short-term liabilities which is illegal, according to the report. Full Moneyweb report

The Public Protector and the Department of Agriculture are investigating a tribal chief in Vryheid, KZN, who has bagged lucrative farming tenders worth more than R56m, says a Sunday Tribune report. Chief Douglas Vusi Zondo, of Vryheid, who owns Sokotshane Mthiya Construction and Civils CC, is at the centre of the investigation into a R56m tender that was awarded in 2011 to Sokotshane by the KZN Department of Agriculture to deliver and incorporate lime and fertiliser in the south region of KZN. According to minutes of a departmental adjudication committee, the approved project budget was R40m, but the tender was awarded at a substantially higher cost. How the higher cost was authorised is being investigated, notes the report. Zondo rejected the allegations as a 'blatant lie', according to the report which quotes him as saying: 'It is not true: I have not received all the tenders. I only got one tender.' Full Sunday Tribune report

Staying with tender issues: An investigation has uncovered evidence of 'irregular' tenders awarded by City of Johannesburg waste management company, Pikitup, says a report on the Fin24.com site. 'Having concluded the forensic investigation... (the) report confirms that there is prima facie evidence of irregular awarding of contracts,' mayoral committee member Matshidiso Mfikoe said. The investigation found some contracts awarded by Pikitup were in contravention of prescribed legislation, policies and procedures. It also implicated a number of employees and board members. Pikitup is a municipal entity mandated to provide waste management services in the greater Johannesburg area. Full report on the Fin24.com site

More tender-related news: The NPA has obtained an order to attached assets worth about R24m belonging to a National Assembly portfolio committee chair, says a report on the News24 site. The Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained the order in the Northern Cape High Court against ANC MP Yolanda Botha. Botha chairs the Social Development Committee. According to a report on the News24 site, the unit successfully argued that Botha disregarded tender procedures while she was head of social development in the Northern Cape, and signed lease agreements that benefited a company called Trifecta Investment Holdings. 'In return, Trifecta made renovations to her house. The value of the renovations is estimated at R1.2m,' the NPA said. The lease agreements were costing the government about R3m a month, with some coming to an end only in 2017. Botha allegedly approved decisions that went against the bid adjudication committee's recommendations. The attachment order was granted against Botha's house in Kimberley and her 10% shareholding in Trifecta. Full report on the News24 site

In a tender-related matter that has reached the courts, a trial date has been set for Kaizer Chiefs manager Bobby Motaung, Herbert Theledi and Chris Grib for their alleged involvement in tender fraud in the construction of Mbombela Stadium near Nelspruit, says a report in The Citizen. The case will move back onto the roll of the Nelspruit Regional Court on 3 December. Police arrested another suspect early yesterday in connection with the R920m Mbombela Stadium fraud case. Tebogo Khubeka was apprehended by Nelspruit police hours before he joined the first accused in the trial, former municipal manager Jacob Dladla, who was set to appear in the Nelspruit Regional Court. Both will appear again in the Nelspruit Regional Court on 27 November. Motaung, Theledi and Grib are facing charges of fraud, theft and forgery relating to a R140m Mbombela Stadium tender awarded in 2006. The NPA indicated that the case involving Dladla would not be joined with the case of the other three accused. Full report in The Citizen