Court nullifies R4 billion Tshwane fleet management tender

The City of Tshwane’s fleet management tender valued at R4 billion has come under the spotlight again after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, nullified it almost a year after it was awarded.

The City advertised tender SSO4 in March last year and awarded it in August. The multibillion rand contract focused on the corporate hire of general construction vehicles, yellow plant equipment, refuse removal vehicles, specialised equipment and machines for the City. A company known as JL Excavators (Pty) Ltd approached the court on the grounds that the City flouted tender procurement regulations.

The matter was heard early this month and judgment was handed down last week. Chief of staff Jordan Griffiths yesterday indicated that the metro would appeal the ruling, which also ordered it to re-advertise the tender for the procurement of the same services. The court ruled that the setting aside of the tender was suspended until June 30 to allow the new tender process to be concluded.

“Until June 30, 2022, the first respondent shall submit a report every 20 days recording in meaningful details the progress of the steps taken in the tender process,” said the ruling. The tender in question was not new to controversy. In December 2020, Mayor Randall Williams announced the City's decision to halt the awarding of the same tender, citing possible collusion involving officials and contract bidders.

A decision was also made then to re-advertise the tender after it was also revealed the metro failed to appoint new contractors prior to the expiry of the contract which expired in July 2020. At the time the tender bidding process was flagged by a Nexus Forensic Services report, which further revealed that 71 employees in the service of the state had either direct or indirect conflicts of interest in the bidding process of the tender in question.

At least 35 bidding entities, who shared directorships, failed to disclose their status in the bidding documents, which smacked of collusive bidding, according to the report. At least 49 bidders were either directly or indirectly linked to 68 City employees and employees of three other state entities. Three employees in Tshwane were identified as being directors of some of the recommended bidders, none of which was disclosed.

Six of the 767 bidding companies had details which could not be matched against the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) database. Following the release of the forensic report, Williams promised that the City would make sure that the re-advertised tender would be corrupt-free or follow the law to the letter. However, it would appear that the promise by the mayor could not be fulfilled as demonstrated by last week’s court judgment.

“The entire procurement process of the tender has a host of flaws, discrepancies, anomalies and irregularities to conclude ‘that the process has been irrevocably tainted with irregularities that renders the process unfair and even unlawful in respect of the non-compliance with the relevant legislation’,” Williams said.

Some of the irregularities detected in the forensic probe were that bidders, who qualified for the tender were not qualified, and those without the required experience or vehicles to deliver services were allowed to bid. It also came to light that bidders supported each other’s bids by way of reference letters, which was indicative of collusive tender practices.