The Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) has been threatened with a lawsuit by a service provider it had disqualified from bidding for a lucrative tender.
Owned by the eThekwini municipality, the ICC allegedly excluded Fullmark Holdings from bidding for a tender to provide seasonal labour.
This is contained in a September 9, 2025, letter the Fullmark lawyers sent to the ICC.
Asif Latib Attorneys wrote that it was bizarre for the ICC to exclude Fullmark from bidding when it had supplied the very service to the ICC since 2010.
“On about August 27, 2025, at 4.43pm, the Durban ICC, by way of an email addressed to interested parties by its senior buyer, Siyabonga Gumbi, issued a request for quotations for the provision of ‘flexi labour’ services to the Durban ICC for September 2025.
“Our client submitted a response thereto, in the form of a quotation for said services, to the Durban ICC on or about August 28, 2025.”
But on the same day, this bid was rejected outright.
“Also on August 28, 2025, at approximately 5.07pm, a response was received by our client from one Adwoa Milumba, ostensibly the supply chain compliance officer of the Durban ICC, advising our client that its quotation for the provision of flexi labour services to the Durban ICC for September 2025 had not been accepted. The value of the provision of flexi labour services procured by the Durban ICC for September 2025 exceeds the amount of R2-million,” the lawyers said.
The lawyers said the Durban ICC, as a state-owned company, was required to comply with the provisions of section 217 of the Constitution Act 108 of 1996, the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 and the municipal supply chain management regulations promulgated thereunder in the procurement of any goods and services.
They warned that their right to challenge this decision in court was reserved.
“The process followed by the Durban ICC in respect of the procurement of flexi labour services for September 2025 failed to comply with the requirements of the aforesaid legislation and regulations and is patently unlawful.
“No basis existed for a deviation by the Durban ICC from the applicable SCM and procurement policies in respect of its procurement of flexi labour services for September 2025, thereby rendering the process and the decision made at the conclusion thereof patently unlawful.
“Our client’s rights to challenge the lawfulness of said procurement process and the decision made at the conclusion thereof are accordingly reserved in their entirety.”
They then demanded that the entity must give full reasons for its decision not to accept the quotation for the provision of flexi labour services.
They also demanded to have the identity and particulars of the successful bidder and the details of any right of internal appeal, which “our client may have in respect of said decision”.
The Durban ICC did not respond to a Sunday World request for comment.
