The Pretoria High Court has reviewed and set aside South African National Roads Agency’s (Sanral) R9.5-billion national road maintenance tender after the agency conceded that the procurement process was unlawful, settling litigation with two unsuccessful bidders.
The settlement ends months of litigation over Sanral’s five-year Routine Road Maintenance (RRM) panel, which had appointed 20 companies to maintain the country’s national road network.
Draft court order
Rather than proceeding to a contested judgment, Sanral and the litigants agreed to a draft court order after negotiations identified procurement irregularities that made the panel incapable of being implemented.
“Through a draft order that was made an order of court, Sanral has settled the litigation emanating from the award of its five-year Routine Road Maintenance panel,” Sanral spokesperson Lwando Mahlalela said.
“By agreement between Sanral and the litigants to the RRM panel case, the Gauteng High Court has reviewed and set aside the award of its RRM panel, by declaring the procurement process irregular and unlawful.”
The litigation was brought by BCB Solutions (Pty) Ltd and Botle Ba Afrika Roads (Pty) Ltd after Sanral declined their bids while appointing a panel of 20 contractors.
Mahlalela said the settlement followed “successful negotiations” between Sanral and the applicants after all parties identified irregularities affecting the procurement.
“The awarded RRM panel comprised of 20 companies that were to undertake maintenance work on the national roads across South Africa,” he said.
Fresh open tender process
The court order now requires Sanral to restart the procurement through a fresh open tender process to be evaluated on functionality and the preference points system.
To prevent maintenance work from grinding to a halt, the court also approved an interim arrangement allowing existing routine road maintenance contractors to continue working until the new procurement has been completed.
Mahlalela stressed that this should not be interpreted as preferential treatment for incumbent contractors.
“The position should not be characterised as a preference for incumbent contractors. Existing RRM arrangements have been maintained to avoid disruption to routine road maintenance.”
Sanral to brief stakeholders
The agency also announced that it will next week meet all bidders to explain the implications of the court order and map a way forward.
Sanral further plans to hold a media briefing addressing allegations of corruption, ongoing lawsuits, procurement failures and governance lapses that have placed the state-owned roads agency under growing scrutiny.
“Sanral is committed to the rule of law, clean governance, transparency and accountability,” Mahlalela said.
The settlement represents one of the most significant procurement reversals involving Sanral in recent years.
Instead of defending the award through protracted litigation, the roads agency has accepted that the procurement process could not stand, paving the way for an entirely new tender while ensuring maintenance of South Africa’s national roads continues uninterrupted.
- Pretoria High Court set aside Sanral's R9.5-billion national road maintenance tender due to unlawful procurement process.
- Settlement followed litigation by two unsuccessful bidders, BCB Solutions and Botle Ba Afrika Roads, who challenged the award.
- Sanral agreed to restart the procurement via a fresh open tender evaluated on functionality and preference points.
- Interim arrangements allow existing contractors to continue work to prevent disruption of routine road maintenance.
- Sanral plans stakeholder briefings and media updates addressing corruption allegations, procurement failures, and governance issues.
