Hawks Must Investigate Justice Department's R2bn Security Contract – Tapsosa
2 years ago Rob Mbaxane
This comes after the Justice department placed two senior officials on precautionary suspension over suspicions of tender fraud.
FILE PHOTO: Jones Maphalaphathwa Presidet of The Association of Private Security Owners of SA (Tapsosa). PICTURE: Tapsosa
PRETORIA: Tapsosa said the department called for service providers to submit quotations for security services.
The Association of private security owners of South Africa (Tapsosa) has called for the Hawks to investigate allegations of corruption and violation of the public finance management act by the department of justice and constitutional development.
The department is alleged to have appointed three companies to provide security services across the country's courts – with the value of the contract estimated to be around R2-billion.
Tapsosa said the department called for service providers to submit quotations for security services. But according to Treasury regulations, contracts with a value exceeding half a million rand should go through a normal competitive bid.
The Association's spokesperson Sindisiwe Changuion said the department had breached the procurement regulatory framework by overriding some procedures.
"They have once again violated the Public Finance Management Act by bypassing competitive bid processes required, in particular when involved with a project with the amount in excess of R500 000."
The department's chief financial officer Lorraine Rossouw and her supply chain director, Sanjay Singh have been suspended following forensic investigations into procurement at the department.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) raided all 15 Master of the High Court offices around the country last year after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation directing the unit to probe numerous complaints including maladministration and corruption.
One of the contracts that led to the duo's suspension was the contract to guard court buildings in South Africa's 350 magisterial districts.
This tender was initially advertised in 2015 and later withdrawn after the evaluation and adjudication phase, and then re-advertised in 2016.
Rob Mbaxane
rmuprightnqola@gmail.com
Tags: Cyril Ramaphosa, Hawks, Justice Department, Lorraine Rossouw, Sanjay Singh, SIU, Tapsosa
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