Termination of the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works Contract a vindication for ActionSA
Bongani Baloyi
ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson
ActionSA welcomes the long-awaited and overdue termination by City of Tshwane of the contract for the refurbishment of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant, previously awarded to a joint venture of companies owned by Edwin Sodi.
This termination of the contract comes after many months of assurances that the project was on schedule and delivering against the expectations of the long-term project of clean drinking water for the people of Hammanskraal and Rooiwal.
ActionSA has long held that the contract entered into by the city was patently illegal and its termination is a vindication of our position, and we will bring this to the attention of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) which is currently investigating tender irregularities at the Rooiwaal.
In 2020 ActionSA held its own commission of enquiry into the Hammanskraal water crisis, the report from which was handed to Mayor Williams in August 2021 and to the SIU on 22 July 2022.
The evidence heard by the commission demonstrated the following elements that demonstrate the illegality of the award of the contract:
The contract amounted to a R295 million award to a joint venture with both companies owned by state capture-implicated Edwin Sodi for the upgrade of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Neither company in the joint venture had any experience in this kind of project.
The joint venture did not have the required funds for site establishment. The City of Tshwane paid R1 million upfront to float the costs of site establishment.
The joint venture, in contravention of the supply chain policies of the City of Tshwane, had to be ceded R71 million upfront because it lacked the resources for the initial capital outlay.
ActionSA, while pleased with the cancellation of this contract, will eagerly await the forensic investigation that is due in the City of Tshwane Council at the end of August. This investigation arises from a motion brought by ActionSA to the council and must look into both the circumstances that led to the appointment of this joint venture as well as the delay in the delay in the forensic investigation that was due at the end of June 2022.
The water crisis in Hammanskraal and Rooiwal has been an ongoing human rights violation for nearly two decades. ActionSA will drive the expeditious appointment of a new and competent service provider following due process and ensuring greater transparency in the project timeline to resolve this issue.
Termination of the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works Contract a vindication for ActionSA
ActionSA welcomes the long-awaited and overdue termination by City of Tshwane of the contract for the refurbishment of the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant, previously awarded to a joint venture of companies owned by Edwin Sodi.
This termination of the contract comes after many months of assurances that the project was on schedule and delivering against the expectations of the long-term project of clean drinking water for the people of Hammanskraal and Rooiwal.
ActionSA has long held that the contract entered into by the city was patently illegal and its termination is a vindication of our position, and we will bring this to the attention of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) which is currently investigating tender irregularities at the Rooiwaal.
In 2020 ActionSA held its own commission of enquiry into the Hammanskraal water crisis, the report from which was handed to Mayor Williams in August 2021 and to the SIU on 22 July 2022.
The evidence heard by the commission demonstrated the following elements that demonstrate the illegality of the award of the contract:
ActionSA, while pleased with the cancellation of this contract, will eagerly await the forensic investigation that is due in the City of Tshwane Council at the end of August. This investigation arises from a motion brought by ActionSA to the council and must look into both the circumstances that led to the appointment of this joint venture as well as the delay in the delay in the forensic investigation that was due at the end of June 2022.
The water crisis in Hammanskraal and Rooiwal has been an ongoing human rights violation for nearly two decades. ActionSA will drive the expeditious appointment of a new and competent service provider following due process and ensuring greater transparency in the project timeline to resolve this issue.