The Bergrivier Municipality’s handling of public resources has come under scrutiny, with some locals alleging the withholding of important tender information.
Residents say that since 2022, the DA-led municipality has not published key tender information on its website, noting that some procurement award records were missing, incomplete or blank, with key disclosure fields reportedly absent.
For community activist Grant Pascoe, the issue is not just about paperwork and audit reports. He told Sunday World that the information vacuums were indicative of the general exclusion of historically disadvantaged people.
Excluded from opportunities
“People are tired of hearing about clean audits while local businesses still feel excluded from real opportunities.
“The DA cannot keep speaking about fairness and transparency while many coloured and black businesses believe they are being pushed aside and only used as subcontractors while the same contractors continue getting major municipal work,” Pascoe said.
“People want to see real economic transformation, equal opportunity and fair access to tenders.”
Pascoe said many residents believed the system favoured a small, interconnected group, leaving emerging local businesses behind.
“That is why these questions about tender transparency and disclosure matter so much.”
Award details and technical difficulties
The municipality said it had noted residents’ concerns, adding that there had been no deliberate change in policy or procedure relating to the publication of information on the contracts awarded since 2022.
“However, the municipality has experienced ongoing technical challenges with certain functions of the municipal website.
“This has affected the display and accessibility of some information within sections under the procurement tab too, including parts of the tender awards section.”
It said full award details were available in its monthly tender reports published online and that the Auditor-General (AG) audited its procurement processes annually.
Security personnel expenses
The Piketberg United Democratic Community Forum (PUDCF) said it had written to the AG, requesting an investigation into expenditure on security personnel deployed at the private residence of Bergrivier mayor Ray van Rooy.
“The PUDCF wishes to make it clear that our intention has always been to protect the interests of residents, ratepayers and vulnerable communities.
“The people of Bergrivier deserve honest leadership, transparency and the responsible management of public resources,” the organisation added.
The municipality’s speaker, Randall Swarts, said the mayor, deputy mayor and speaker were entitled to security under the upper limits of salaries, allowances and benefits for councillors.
“These complaints are politically motivated; the individuals behind them aim to create a narrative that the municipality misuses funds,” Swarts said.
- Bergrivier Municipality, led by the DA, has been criticized for not publishing complete or transparent tender award information on its website since 2022, with key procurement details missing or incomplete.
- Community activist Grant Pascoe and locals argue that the lack of transparency reflects exclusion of historically disadvantaged businesses, which feel marginalized and pushed aside from major municipal contract opportunities.
- The municipality attributes the missing tender information to ongoing technical issues with their website, stating that full award details are still available in monthly reports and procurement processes are audited annually by the Auditor-General.
- The Piketberg United Democratic Community Forum has requested an Auditor-General investigation into security expenses at the mayor’s private residence, accusing the municipality of misusing public resources.
- Municipal officials, including speaker Randall Swarts, defend the security expenses and claim the complaints are politically motivated attempts to tarnish the municipality’s reputation.
