The Amajuba District Municipality (ADM) in Newcastle, northern KwaZulu-Natal, has been reported to the provincial treasury for allegedly flouting its procurement rules.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)-led municipality allegedly flouted the rules by barring a Durban-based company called Mela Okuhle Trading from bidding for the Goedehoop wastewater project worth R89-million.
This is contained in a letter the company wrote to Francois Rodgers, the MEC for the provincial treasury, dated April 16 2025.
Deliberately barred
The company alleges that when it tried to bid, it was not given the requisite papers, and it was left out. It suspects that officials deliberately barred it to settle old scores.
“It is our belief or suspicion that Mela Okuhle Trading Enterprise is deliberately being excluded from the tendering process due to unknown reasons, although we have our suspicions on this matter. But these are serious allegations. And we are not at liberty to discuss or mention the same at this juncture.
“We humbly request the intervention of the KZN Provincial Treasury on this matter in order not to delay service delivery and the implementation of this project. But also to ensure full compliance by ADM of all applicable laws and regulations in securing a fair and competitive tendering process by ADM,” reads the letter from Mela Okuhle pleading for intervention by the provincial treasury.
Treasury pleads mandatory 60-day period
In response, the treasury told the company to wait for the 60-day period set aside. The said period is a standard if there is a dispute about a tender.
However, it appears that the horse has already bolted. On 21 July 2025, the municipality awarded the tender to SNA Construction CC, sparking another threat of legal action. That was after a company called Umpisi Construction and Plant Hire threatened legal action. They said the municipality has already awarded the tender while the period to lodge objections is still on.
Despite being given days to comment, the municipality did not take the opportunity to do so.
