Public Protector uncovers serious procurement irregularities in Lesseyton Sports Facility

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9 hours ago

Public Protector finds procurement irregularities in the construction of Lesseyton Sports Facility in Enoch Mgijima Municipality.
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Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has found that there was mismanagement in the construction of the R22.7 million Lesseyton Sports Facility in the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality.
The investigation was launched after complaints were laid with the Public Protector's office in Bisho, Eastern Cape, to probe the alleged procurement irregularities relating to the construction of the sports field.
The venue, also known as Ndlovukazi Sports Stadium, was unveiled in October 2021.
The stadium sparked outrage, with many questioning its exorbitant price tag.
Pictures posted on social media showed a dry, bumpy field, small metal stands, soccer, and rugby uprights. It also has no working ablution facilities or electricity.
This sparked investigations from the Public Protector and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), which also found that the awarding of the tender was irregular.
The Cogta investigation also found that the people involved were able to change the scopes of work without following due process.
The contract was awarded to a Pretoria-based company, Thalami Civils Pty Ltd.
Presenting the report in the Bisho office, Gcaleka said allegations that there were procurement irregularities in the awarding of the tender to Thalami have been substantiated.
She said the awarding of the tender exceeded R18.7m budget, which was approved by Cogta during the 2017/18 financial year, adding that this exceeded the budget by over R4.7m.
'And there is no evidence that the municipality approached the municipal council for additional funding as required by Section 19(1) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA),' she said.
Enoch Mgijima's spokesperson, Lonwabo Kowa, did not respond at the time of publication.
Gcaleka added that the tender advertisement had two different closing dates and was not placed in three different public platforms as required by regulation 22(1)(a) of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Policy.
She added that the tender advertisement period was shortened from 30 days to 14 days.
'The reason provided was that the construction of the Lesseyton Sports facility was an emergency. The municipality's definition of emergency in this regard is found not to be in line with the definition in terms of Regulation 22 (2) of the Municipal Supply Chain Management Policy,' Gcaleka said.
She said the evidence suggested that two bid evaluation processes took place.
According to her, the first process resulted in a different service provider being the preferred bidder, and the second process utilised a different formula provided by the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC), and this resulted in the appointment of Thalami Civils, which was the fourth highest bidder to win the tender.
'The reasons advanced by the municipality for awarding the tender to the bidder were that the bidder had recently received the tender for a similar magnitude. The reason provided by the BEC did not amount to a quote objective criterion and was not supported by any legal original authority,' she said, adding that this reason was not part of the evaluation criteria in terms of the specification determined by the BEC.
'Thalami was, therefore, appointed in contravention of Section 2(1)(e) and (f) of the PPPFA, which provides that contracts must be awarded to the tenderer who scores the highest points unless objective criteria justifying the award to another tenderer,' said Gcaleka, adding that the allegation that there were irregularities in the management of the contract and a lack of proper oversight on the sports field construction was also substantiated.
The office also found that after the construction was suspended, Thalami, which was paid R15m, was reappointed and proceeded without a valid contract.
Gcaleka recommended that Cogta should take action officials involved.
The article will be updated when Enoch Mgijima Municipality comments.
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