State-owned freight logistics group Transnet this week declined to reveal the company or companies it awarded the multi-million-rand contract that auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke flagged as having material irregularities.
“An award of R831 123 000 was made by the public entity in December 2019 for the leasing of front-end loaders, front-end loaders with pusher attachments, articulated dump trucks, tipper trucks, mobile fuel bowsers and excavators, for a period of five years.
“The contract amounts awarded to the bidders exceeded the amounts per the bidding documents submitted and included escalated prices even though price increase negotiations had not yet taken place,” Maluleke said.
She added that the awarding of contracts at amounts higher than the bidding price will result in a material financial loss for the entity.
Maluleke said she had notified Transnet’s top brass of the material irregularity in August last year.
Transnet then launched a forensic investigation into the material irregularity.
The investigation concluded that corrective action be taken against the implicated officials who contravened the provisions of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, but no fraud, theft or breach of fiduciary duty was identified.
Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi could not be drawn to reveal the name of the companies awarded the contract, sidestepping direct questions.
“The investigation was completed in March 2022, and all the employees who are mentioned in the report were given an opportunity to respond to the findings in accordance with Transnet’s employee relations policies and procedures. Currently, the organisation is in the process of implementing the investigator’s recommendations.”
A search by Sunday World shows the tender was advertised in July 2019 for Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, but publicly available information does not show who the contract was awarded to.
TPT, one of Transnet’s divisions, operates terminals in seven South African commercial ports namely Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Ngqura, Cape Town and Saldanha. Transnet released its 2022 results in July, showing a profit of R5-billion, reversing the R8.7-billion loss reported in 2021.
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