Latest news with #ThalamiCivils
Eyewitness News
an hour ago
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Lesseyton Sports Field tender contractors failed to deliver despite going over budget: PP
JOHANNESBURG - The Public Protector (PP) has found that contractors who won the tender for the Lesseyton Sports Field in the Eastern Cape failed to deliver on the project despite going over budget by almost R5 million. On Wednesday, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka held a media briefing to release findings of her investigation into the building of the stadium in Komani. Gcaleka's investigation found there was improper conduct and maladministration by senior managers at the Enoch Mgijima Municipality in awarding the tender to a company called Thalami Civils in 2018. The PP says the tender awarded to Thalami Civils was initially R18.7 million but ballooned to R22.7 million for no apparent reason. She says the company failed to deliver on an athletic track, a soccer and rugby field, netball, tennis and volleyball courts and grandstands as agreed upon in the contract. Gcaleka says that during the bid adjudication process, Thalami Civils was the fourth highest scoring bidder. She says the Enoch Mgijimi Municipality provided inadequate reasons for why the highest scoring bidder wasn't granted the tender. The PP has referred her report to the Hawks for criminal investigations.
Eyewitness News
an hour ago
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Public Protector refers tender for Lesseyton sports field to Hawks for criminal investigation
JOHANNESBURG - The controversial R23 million tender for the Lesseyton sports field in the Eastern Cape has been referred to the Hawks for criminal investigation. On Wednesday, Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka held a media briefing to release findings of her investigations into the building of the stadium in Komani. The report found several procurement irregularities and that the appointed contractor failed to deliver, despite going over the budget by almost R5 million. READ: Public Protector finds some Gauteng public hospitals failed to respond to COVID-19 pandemic Contractor Thalami Civils Pty Ltd failed to deliver on an athletics track, a soccer and rugby field, netball, tennis and volleyball courts and grandstands as outlined in the bid specification. Public Protector spokesperson, Khulu Phasiwe, said the Enoch Mgijimi Municipality did not properly advertise the tender. "The advertisement has to be placed in three different publicly accessible platforms. The municipality only did so in two different platforms. Even the tender advertisement itself, the period was initially 30 days, but the municipality shortened it to 14 days without informing the participants." Phathiswe added that Thalami Civils didn't qualify for the tender as it scored the fourth-highest points among the bidders.
The Citizen
a day ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Public Protector flags irregularities in R22m Lesseyton Stadium, questions 'emergency'
The construction of the Lesseyton Sports Field exceeded the approved R18.7 million budget. Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has found evidence of mismanagement in the construction of the controversial Lesseyton Sports Field in Komani, Eastern Cape. In a report released on Wednesday following an investigation into allegations of maladministration and improper conduct, Gcaleka highlighted serious procurement issues involving the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality. The sports facility, unveiled in October 2021, drew widespread public criticism due to its poor quality and the high cost associated with its construction. A forensic investigation conducted by a law firm had revealed that the contract for building the stadium — awarded to construction company Thalami Civils — was irregular. Public Protector investigation over Lesseyton Sports Field tender On Wednesday, Gcaleka found that procurement irregularities in the awarding of the R22.7 million tender had been substantiated. She pointed out that one key issue was that the project exceeded the R18.7 million budget approved by the Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in the 2017-18 financial year. 'The awarded tender exceeded the budgeted amount by over R4.7 million, 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,' Gcaleka said. ALOS READ: Sanral taking its time to investigate R1.57bn tender award Additional procedural issues were also found during the tender process. Gcaleka highlighted inconsistencies in the contract's advertisement, revealing that it had two different closing dates and was not published on three publicly accessible platforms, as required by the municipal supply chain management policy. 'The tender advertisement period was shortened from 30 days to 14 days, and the reasons provided was that the construction of Lesseyton Sports Field 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,' she remarked. Bid evaluation process questioned The Public Protector's investigation uncovered irregularities in the bid evaluation process, including evidence that two separate evaluations took place. 'The first process resulted in bidder 1 being the preferred bidder, whereas the second process utilised a different formula provided by the BAC [bid adjudicating committee] and culminated in Thalami Civil, which was the fourth.' Gcaleka questioned the rationale provided by the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality for bypassing the top-scoring bidder. READ MORE: DA demands full AGSA report on R400m driving licence tender The municipality had justified not awarding the tender to the highest scoring bidder by claiming the bidder had recently been awarded a similar contract. 'The reasons provided by the BAC did not amount to, I quote, 'objective criterion', and [were] not supported by any legal or rational authority. 'Moreover, this reason was not part of the evaluation criteria in terms of the specification or determined by the BEC [bid evaluation committee].' Lack of oversight on Lesseyton Sports Field project The Public Protector concluded that the appointment of Thalami Civils contravened section 2(1)(e) and (f) of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA), which mandates awarding contracts to the highest-scoring bidder unless objective criteria justify otherwise. 'The allegations that there were irregularities in the management of the contract and a lack of proper oversight on the Lesseyton Sports Field construction project by the local and provincial governments, resulting in no value for money, are substantiated,' Gcaleka added. NOW READ: Macpherson not deterred by 'political pressure or death threats' over R800m oxygen tender
