Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Opposition ‘kept in the dark’ on station
City quiet on legal wrangle over landmark
OPPOSITION parties in the Cape Town metro council have not been informed of the outcome of the legal wrangle between the city, the engineering company to which it awarded a contract to decommission Athlone Power Station and the reappointment of a service provider following a Constitutional Court ruling.
Opposition parties said they were in the dark about the latest developments on the future of the power station.
The engineering company at the centre of the legal battle with the city, Aurecon, would not disclose the latest discussions and terms agreed with the city but said its appointment had been confirmed.
ANC councillor Xolani Sotashe said following the Western Cape High Court’s finding in favour of the city in 2014, the awarding of the contract to Aurecon had been found to be riddled with irregularities and was therefore set aside.
The councillors who initially raised the red flag have not been informed about the outcome of the matter.
Sotashe was not aware that the matter had been taken to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) by Aurecon and the High Court decision had been set aside.
He also was not aware that the Constitutional Court had refused the city’s application for leave to appeal the SCA decision.
“This is one of those cases where the DA tries by all means to hide information from the public,” he said. “We raised alarm bells with this tender in the first place but no progress report has been brought before council.”
Sotashe said: “In the next council meeting we will ask the DA to take us into its confidence about these cases.”
EFF provincial leader Bernard Joseph said the EFF would demand answers from the DA about wasting taxpayers’ money on unnecessary court battles and administrative costs.
“We demand that the DA-led government, as head of governance in the City of Cape Town, pay back the money and not misuse taxpayers’ monies.”
ACDP councillor and cau- cus leader in the metro council Grant Haskin said the party was not aware of any court-related information on the redevelopment of the Athlone Power Station site.
“Council is hardly ever – if ever – informed when the city loses court cases. If councillors are informed, it’s typically via the media like in this case and not via official communiques from the city that includes an assessment on the implications going forward, proposed next steps, etc,” Haskin said.
“Council is never informed about the cost of these court cases, bearing in mind this it is ratepayers’ money that is spent on all such actions whether won or lost. Council is never consulted before the city goes to court either, on the viability, need and/ or importance of going to court, implications for city policy going forward, cost implications, prospects of success, yet the city spends millions of rands on court action annually.
“We are not aware of any information being given to council specifically about delays in the redevelopment of this site. It may have been provided to the members of the relevant committee, but not in any committee we serve on,” Haskin said.