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‘Double standards’: City urged to come clean on corruption

DA leader John Steenhuisen has been accused of double standards and turning his back on calls for transparency over allegations of corruption in the DA-led City. This as the municipality has refused requests to release a report into the alleged million rand tender fraud scandal.

The matter is currently in court, and last month the eight accused, including two City employees, failed to get their case struck from the roll in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. Anti-crime activist Hanif Loonat assisted by Cape Coloured Congress (CCC) leader Fadiel Adams lifted the lid on the matter which led to the arrests.

In a letter addressed to Steenhuisen, Loonat said: “Since you are an avid fighter for freedom of information and claim to be the stalwart on justice to rid South Africa from state capture, could you kindly assist us with your own party members who have stalled and deliberately found every excuse not to be transparent and open with public information?”

In his list of queries mentioned in the letter, Loonat said the Da-led City was not coming clean about “how a 3GB term tender with an upper limit range of R2 000 000 was awarded with a value of R60 000 000? The term tender 243Q/2016/17 that was initially envisaged to receive a budget of R60 000 000, the budget was subsequently increased to R503 249 267.97”.

He further asked why the company continued to receive work from the City, even after it was embroiled in fraud and corruption allegations. Meanwhile he said, the City had also taken a turn and was not being transparent, after it allegedly stopped access to all tender award and Bid Adjudication Reports following the scandal.

Steenhuisen’s spokesperson Charity McCord said the DA leader had nothing to say on the matter. “This involves the CoCT and not the office of the DA Federal Leader,” she said. The City maintained that it is co-operating with police on its investigation into the tender and that it would not release the forensic report.

“Whatever action that arises out of the SAPS investigation, the City will apply itself to the findings and implement what it deems necessary. Forensic reports are classified as confidential in terms of the City’s Records Management Policy which is aligned to the National Archives Act.

“The forensic report forms part of the active investigation and is before the court as evidence in the R2.5m fraud trial of the accused. “With regards to our tender processes we always aim to remain transparent and some adjustments have been made for the safety of staff and suppliers in some matters,” the City said.

Source: www.iol.co.za

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‘Double standards’: City urged to come clean on corruption

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