Patricia de Lille’s plan to engage 20 400 workers to help fight the coronavirus
Departmental and SANDF officials had a site meeting at the Beitbridge border post on 17 March.
The following day, urgent meetings were held.
“The ordinary procurement process would take three months to get a contractor, which is not in line with the directive,” reads Mokothu’s presentation.
“It was prudent to invoke the emergency procurement process that entailed the appointment of the required service providers through a negotiated procedure that was approved by NBAC [National Bid Adjudication Committee].”
The contractor was selected based on its experience, was appropriately qualified, and was already working on a repair and maintenance programme project at Beitbridge.
The work had to be done on 20km on both sides of Beitbridge. The site was handed over to the contractor on 19 March.
De Lille said it is not correct to say the fence costs R37 million – that is the amount the tender was awarded for, but the final account is in 14 days, and, currently, the department has paid R21 million to the contractor.
De Lille said she has written to the AG, Kimi Makwetu, to ask that his office investigate whether the department got value for its money and whether the correct processes were followed.
Several members indicated that the committees should visit the border post for an oversight inspection.
