Free State toilet project blocked by confusion

A COMPANY that was “parachuted” by a government department into an existing R925-million Free State project to eradicate bucket toilets, has been ordered to stop work.

Vharanani Properties was awarded a closed tender contract by the Department of Water and Sanitation late last year to install some of the 34 000 flushing toilets needed in the province.

But the contract had already been awarded two years earlier to a local firm, Babereki Consulting Engineers, by parastatal Bloem Water.

Last week the High Court in Bloemfontein ordered Vharanani to stop building toilets in eight Free State towns until the contractual wrangle was resolved.

The Sunday Times has established that, among other things, the Vharanani contract was signed in October last year but backdated to August; Bloem Water did not know who had appointed Vha- ranani, and that the national department paid Vharanani R109.5million in December last year for less than three months’ work.

The Department of Water and Sanitation has declined to provide documentation showing what work had been completed before payment was made. Vharanani has for three weeks failed to respond to emails and phone calls about its involvement.

The court interdict won by Babereki — which is owed millions for work already done — is likely to lengthen the wait for flushing toilets. Babereki said in an affidavit that it appeared “at first blush” that either both companies had contractual rights to do the same job or the department was “palpably interfering” with its contract.

Water and sanitation spokesman Sputnik Ratau said the department’s legal team was studying the judgment. He said “normal processes” were followed for the R109million payment.