Red Ants tender in spotlight

HEADS are expected to roll when details of the R872 million of irregular expenditure by the Emfuleni Local Municipality is expected to be tabled before a full council meeting tomorrow.

One of the thorny issues expected to divide the warring ANC and DA in the council chambers is the R103m tender to do meter reading awarded to Red Ants since September 2012.

Red Ants – a controversial security company known for evicting illegal tenants and land grabbers – still has eight months remaining on the contract.

In June this year, the AuditorGeneral (AG) Kimi Makwetu, in his financial report, raised red flags on several tenders issued by the municipality. He also cautioned the municipality for its failure to declare irregular expenditure in 2016.

The Red Ants’ tender is one of the two highest tenders queried by the AG. The other tender worth R101m was awarded to Fleet Data Technologies.

According to a confidential document seen by Independent Media, Emfuleni procured the services of Red Ants in terms of Regulation 32 of the municipal supply chain management regulations 2005.

It was for disconnection and monitoring of illegal connections for a period of a year.

According to the confidential report, “the period between 2013 September and July 2014 is not properly accounted for, except a letter dated July 26, 2013 indicating that Red Ants should commence with meter reading from August 1, 2013.

The report further says the Emfuleni Municipality was working towards locating more documents with information on whether the contract was extended.

“The letter dated April 1, 2015 indicates that the contract expired in August 2014. The contract was neither extended nor terminated (but) the service provider continues to provide services and receives payment,” the report states.

In the same letter there was a request to the accounting officer to extend these services on a month to month basis. The accounting officer approved the request to extend the contract for 24 months. The new expiry date was August 30, 2017.

“Furthermore on May 30, 2017, a further request to extend the contract was submitted to the acting accounting officer, who also approved the request to extend for another twenty four months,” the report stated.

Red Ants were paid more than R49m by June 30, 2017 and more than R33.3m by June this year. The municipality has yet to pay Red Ants an outstanding amount of R17.3m.

The municipality has asked its public accounts committee to look into the matter and recommend appropriate action.