Deputy mayor calls on municipality to end IPTS case and save millions

Deputy mayor calls on municipality to end IPTS case and save millions

DEPUTY mayor Chippa Ngcolomba is pushing for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to drop its R174-million bus contract court case initiated by his predecessor, Nancy Sihlwayi. This is because the city is at risk of losing its R340-million grant for the Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) from the Treasury if the money is not spent by the end of June.

Ngcolomba wants the matter to be resolved out of court. The dispute involves a contract between Lumen Technologies and the municipality.

“We have to unlock the money from the legal dispute because we are disadvantaging ourselves. We can’t comply with what we committed to Treasury by going ahead with the case. We can settle the matter out of court,” Ngcolomba said.

“Where there are discrepancies with how the contract was awarded, it must be dealt with. And those who flouted the processes can be dealt with by the institution.

“But service delivery must go ahead. There are huge implications if we do not unlock that money because if we lose the money it is gone forever, and we do not have the resources to cough up for the IPTS. We have a contract with [Lumen] and we must see how we can resolve this matter out of court.

“There are other tenders that are being put through for the IPTS and we have to show that we are spending and that there is progress. We don’t want to be found operating outside of the law and we are trying to prevent even more money being spent on legal fees,” he said.

Sihlwayi, who has been axed from the municipality, said her views differed to that of Ngcolomba. But she could not comment “because the matter is sub judice. If the deputy mayor would like to know my views, he can speak to me.”

Lumen’s business developer, Wasief Chilwan, said their attorneys had not yet been informed about any intention to withdraw the case.

“The municipality should not have taken us to court, but if the case is withdrawn we look forward to implementing the project as contractually agreed upon. We are fighting because what we were accused of is wrong.”

Last month, former IPTS project head Advocate Mhleli Tshamase wrote to the city’s legal department advising it to withdraw the case.

Tshamase said the city had deliberately withheld crucial documents.

The dispute is set to be heard in the Port Elizabeth High Court on May 26.