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Mosebenzi Zwane admitted to the state’s capture inquiry commission that advance payments were made to suppliers without following the procurement processes.
A screenshot of former Free State Housing Minister and MEC Mosebenzi Zwane of Housing that appeared in the state’s capture investigation in Johannesburg on October 12, 2020. Image: SABC / YouTube
JOHANNESBURG – Former Free State settlement MEC Mosebenzi Zwane on Monday tried to explain why the builders were selected for the province’s R1 billion housing project.
Zwane admitted to the state capture commission of inquiry that advance payments were made to suppliers without following the procurement processes.
He stated that he wanted an open bidding process and denied knowing that a legitimate open bidding process was already underway.
Zwane said he believed the open bidding process he wanted was the way to build a database of qualified contractors.
And he denied that he and the provincial executive wanted to select the builders they wanted, but confirmed that 23 builders were excluded who were included but who disputed the construction of larger houses for the same price.
“When we reported that these contractors had filed a dispute… we said, ‘OK, they have filed a dispute. Cancel your contract and make sure we then have contractors willing to continue at the same price of R50,000, ”he said.
Zwane had yet to talk about the advanced payment system that paid 600 million rand to suppliers of building materials before they supplied them.
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