Mpumalanga press bribery: DA submits PAIA application for tractor tender audit report
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will today be submitting an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to request that the forensic audit report on Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza's awarding of a questionable tender to his friend and business partner, Patrick Chirwa, be made public.
It was reported in yesterday's City Press that Premier Mabuza awarded a R230 million tender to his friend and business partner, Patrick Chirwa, to provide tractors to emerging farmers in Mpumalanga during 2008. Then-MEC Mabuza allegedly awarded the tender without it being budgeted or planned for by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Land Administration in Mpumalanga. If true, this is an unacceptable turn of events.
Premier Mabuza has to explain clearly why and how the tender was awarded and, furthermore, how it allegedly came to be awarded to his friend and business partner in this particular instance. The circumstances of this case appear deeply dubious. The department allegedly initially advised bidders that it wanted to limit expenditure on this project to R150 million. It is thus quite strange that a R230 million tender was eventually awarded to Sizwangendaba Investment (Pty) Ltd, after another bid had allegedly come in at R143 million.
Even stranger, is the fact that Sizwangendaba Investment (Pty) Ltd is not a tractor dealer. By giving the tender to this company, the department essentially added an intermediary, which increases costs unnecessarily. Interestingly, the department allegedly had to overspend its budget by R65.7 million during the 2008/2009 fiscal year because it had not budgeted for this additional expense.
The Premier has to explain why a significantly more expensive bid was chosen by the department. This choice appears especially dubious when one considers the relationship between the Premier and the co-director of Sizwangendaba Investment (Pty) Ltd and the fact that the department was forced to overspend its budget dramatically because of this decision.
The Premier, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Land Administration, the former MEC, Meshack Malinga, and current departmental head, Nelisiwe Sithole, have unfortunately all failed to comment on this highly irregular deal. The fact that the Premier, through his spokesperson, Mabutho Sithole, has allegedly attempted to bribe a journalist to remain silent on this issue, further indicates that all is not well in the Mpumalanga provincial government....
The DA's Parliamentary Leader, Athol Trollip, will today also be writing to President Zuma on this issue. It is vitally important that the President take action if the Premier and others inside the Mpumalanga provincial government are found guilty of fraudulent activities. The DA hopes that President Zuma will commit to decisive action against any such officials.
Statement issued by Lourie Bosman, MP, Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, December 13 2010
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