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Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille says the Auditor General (AG) will investigate the controversial tender for a fence near the Beitbridge border.
In addition, the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) has been asked to patrol the area, now that the project is complete.
“The fence was barely lifted for a day and the criminals came with boxes of cigarettes and contraband food and all that,” De Lille told the Committee on the Portfolio of Public Works and Infrastructure and the Select Committee on Transportation, Public Service and Administration, and Public Works and Infrastructure, during a meeting with the minister and her department on Monday.
In his presentation to the committees, the deputy director general for construction management, Batho Mokhothu, said the department was in the early stages of naming a service provider after SANDF told them its strategic boundary infrastructure was in poor shape. terms. This was before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, he said.
The project aims to be a short and medium term solution in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is expected to have a negative impact on health, the economy and society in South Africa.
The day after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a national disaster state on March 15, De Lille, in accordance with the Disaster Management Act, issued a directive for the emergency security of South African border posts, the The first focus was on the Beitbridge border post and identified hot spots on this boundary.
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Departmental and SANDF officials had a meeting at the Beitbridge border post on March 17.
The next day, urgent meetings were held.
“The ordinary acquisition process would take three months to obtain a contractor, which is not in line with the directive,” reads Mokothu’s filing.
“It was prudent to invoke the emergency procurement process that involved the appointment of required service providers through a negotiated procedure that was approved by NBAC [National Bid Adjudication Committee]”
The contractor was selected based on his experience, was appropriately qualified and was already working on a Beitbridge repair and maintenance program project.
The work had to be done in 20 km on both sides of Beitbridge. The site was delivered to the contractor on March 19.
De Lille said it is not correct to say that the fence costs R37 million, which is the amount for which the tender was awarded, but the final account is in 14 days and, currently, the department has paid R21 million to the contractor.
De Lille said he has written to the GA, Kimi Makwetu, to ask his office to investigate whether the department got value for money and whether the correct processes were followed.
Several members indicated that committees should visit the border post for a supervisory inspection.
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