eThekwini Covid-19 tenders to be probed, contracts went on after state of disaster ended

A report tabled before the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) of the eThekwini Municipality has revealed that the metro spent close to R8.5 million over a three-year period renting toilets and showers for homeless people who were housed in shelters.

The contract for this service was entered into at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The details of the spending were revealed during MPAC discussions last week. Councillors have referred the spending to the City’s Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) for investigation. While the city spent R8.5 million on the project since 2020, the report shows, an amount of R2.4m was spent between April 2022 and January 2023, meaning this contract had continued even after the government had declared an end to the state of national disaster.

It also shows that this amount had not been paid over to the supplier and the report requested that the supplier be paid on account that services had been rendered. The report calls on the committee to regularise this R2.4m. ActionSA councillor Alan Beesley said the committee was presented with numerous reports pertaining to unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. “One such report pertained to the hiring of 12 portable toilets and 12 portable showers for the homeless shelters within eThekwini,” said the ActionSA councillor.

The contractor, continued Beesley, was originally appointed to provide these portable toilets and showers at the start of the state of disaster in March 2020 and their contract expired at the end March 2022 when the state of disaster was ended. “It was then extended for another 10 months up to January 2023 without procurement policies being followed and thus the reason for the unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure,” said the councillor. He said in total the contract ran for 34 months and cost the municipality for the hire of 12 portable toilets and 12 portable showers in excess of R8.5m.

“While ActionSA fully supports the provision of services to the most needy, including the homeless, we are concerned with the quantum of money spent on each toilet and each shower. The total money spent on these toilets and showers could have been far more effectively used in building the homeless quality permanent structures which would have served them far better,” he said.

The councillor said once the state of disaster was over, it was inexcusable that the municipality continued hiring these toilets and showers at exorbitant prices. “The state of disaster allowed dodgy deals to be entered into and unfortunately allowed corruption to flourish which cost the residents and businesses of eThekwini dearly,” said Beesley.

At the MPAC meeting, ActionSA refused to write off this particular expenditure and requested that the municipality’s City Integrity and Investigations Unit do a full investigation of this contract and report back to the committee. MPAC chairperson and EFF councillor Thami Xuma said the report had been referred to the CIIU. “I have spoken to the CIIU and they said they are registering the matter for investigation.

“They are investigating the R8.5m expenditure on toilets and showers. The challenge that we are facing is that the Covid-19 expenditure was not all declared at the same time and it is now coming out piece by piece,” he said.