ANC to lay charges against Tshwane City over tender
The Tshwane ANC will lay criminal charges with the Hawks against the City of Tshwane following allegations that another multimillion-rand tender was awarded irregularly.
The city faces allegations of irregularly entering into a deal with engineering consultancy Aurecon to develop, sell and lease 52 000 of its properties. It is alleged a senior city official motivated for Tshwane to appoint a service provider to advise on the R10 billion property portfolio. The official allegedly sat on the appointment committee and Aurecon was awarded the tender without following due process.
Shortly after the appointment in April last year, the official resigned to work with Aurecon as a subcontracted consultant on the project. But according to the signed service level agreement (SLA), Aurecon was prohibited from appointing a subcontractor, ANC Tshwane chairperson Kgosi Maepa said yesterday.
According to documents provided by the ANC, R6.4 million was invoiced by Aurecon and paid by the city in June last year, two months before the agreement was signed. Maepa said: “This is in contravention of the MFMA (Municipal Finance Management Act). Payment cannot be effected before work is done and the SLA is signed by the city manager and the service provider.
“We will be laying criminal charges with the Hawks via Saps [SA Police Service] after consulting our attorneys. We are immediately taking evidence to the public protector and the National Prosecuting Authority’s panel of judges appointed by the president to deal with corruption and related activities in government.”
The city said last week it would probe the alleged tender irregularity to set the record straight.
The Citizen reported last week on another alleged tender irregularity in which an airport management company, Professional Aviation Services, was paid close to a million rands a month to manage the crumbling Wonderboom National Airport.
Maepa has called for the department of roads and transport to intervene in the mismanagement of the airport, allegedly due to corruption and maladministration.
Meanwhile, the ANC has called on Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa to “fall on his sword” after a recording, purportedly of him and member of the mayoral committee for transport Sheila Senkubuge engaging in an intimate act, was leaked. In the recording they discuss their council colleagues before allegedly becoming intimate.
The ANC said they were certain the audio clip was authentic and that Mokgalapa was “clearly having sex with [his] direct subordinate, Sheila Senkubuge”.
Maepa said it was unacceptable for the mayor of a capital city to engage in sexual activities with fellow executive members in municipal offices, “then claim distortion and blackmail”.
He added that the ANC advised the mayor to “do the honourable thing and fall on his sword”.
Mokgalapa and Senkubuge said they viewed the leak in a very serious light.
Mokgalapa added: “Threats to release the recording have been communicated to us via an intermediary wherein certain demands were made.”
– Additional reporting by News24 Wire
Threats to release the recording have been communicated