DA, MF slam tender mismanagement, non-accountability

THE Minority Front’s single representative on the city council, Jonathan Annipen, has voted in favour of ethekwini’s 2018/19 integrated development plan and budget, but not the city’s tariff increases.

“The idea of increased electricity, water and rental tariffs does not support the idea of economic transformation,” said Annipen, who has also urged the city to do more to make sure that basic services are provided – trimming verges, repairing damaged roads, regular grass cutting and restoring street lights which are not working.

While the budget sought to “empower and develop the previously disadvantaged and the disenfranchised” the municipality had been found wanting in the area of accountability.

“As a result, service delivery protests are on a rampant increase. We have, whether inadvertently, neglected to fulfil our duty with regard to civilian oversight which has led to public dissatisfaction and has contributed largely to many of these protests,” said Annipen.

“We cannot ignore some stark realities. The auditor-general’s decision to withdraw from this municipality citing death threats, allegations by senior officials of tender fraud by political office-bearers and other incidents of gross maladministration are tantamount to dereliction of duty.”

Meanwhile, the DA has welcomed the announcement that 42 companies have been blacklisted.

“Although this is a sorry indication of the state of the city, it is a step in the right direction,” said DA ethekwini caucus leader Nicole Graham.

“The companies blacklisted include Persian Star Investment 11, which received the controversial DSW orange bag contract, and the four companies implicated in the urine diversion toilet contract,” said Graham.

She said the DA made recommendations in a report to the Hawks, calling for action against the officials implicated in the investigative report into the orange bag tender and for criminal charges to be laid against Persian Star.

“Further recommendations against ethekwini officials were made in the report on the urine diversion toilets contracts, but apparently no action has been taken as these officials are still at work,” said Graham.

“The DA also demands answers as to what will happen to the contracts that these contractors already have with the municipality.”

She said one of the companies implicated in the toilet contract report, Uhlanga Trading Services, received another tender to build a switching station in Stockville in March, the month after the investigative report was made public.

The value of this tender was R36 million.

“It is of no use to merely blacklist the companies implicated, but not discipline the officials, and potentially their political masters, for what has taken place. The ANC will undoubtedly approve more tariff and rates increases while officials implicated in huge financial mismanagement are let off the hook.”