Another twist to school desk saga
EASTERN Cape businessman and prominent soccer boss Bongile Nkola was yesterday granted an interim interdict preventing the provincial Education Department from continuing with a multimillion-rand tender to supply more than 1 300 schools with furniture.
Nkola alleges the issue and awarding of the department’s latest R46.6-million school furniture tender had been irregular and unlawful.
He does not benefit from the “quickfix tender” which the department rushed out two weeks ago in an attempt to fulfil a court order that it provide every school child in the province with a desk and chair by the end of May.
Last year, Nkola also successfully interdicted a R30-million school furniture tender awarded in a similar fashion to the current one. In that case, however, he stood to benefit by R2.5-million. Due to that interdict the school furniture was never delivered.
On Tuesday, Nkola asked the Bhisho High Court to interdict any further delivery of school furniture by the 14 suppliers awarded a portion of the R46.6-million tender.
Judge John Smith ordered that, pending a hearing on April 14, the Education MEC (Mandla Makupula), Education superintendent-general (Mthunywa Ngonzo), Planning and Treasury MEC (Phumulo Masualle) and Treasury superintendentgeneral (Marion Mbina-Mthembu), refrain from placing further orders for the delivery of school furniture and to not accept any more deliveries from the 14 suppliers.
Education Department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani said earlier this week that only a third of the school furniture ordered had been delivered.
The Centre for Child Law, working with the Legal Resource Centre, successfully sought the original court order against the department to provide school furniture to 650 000 pupils in more than 1 300 schools.
Last month, the Mthatha High Court ordered the Education Department to provide every public school in the province with adequate furniture by May 31.
The 14 school furniture suppliers and manufacturers were awarded portions of a R46.6million tender on March 13 and 14 – just two days before the provincial government closed its books for the 2013-14 financial year.