by Thinus Ferreira
South Africa's High Court has ruled that a R7 million contract between South Africa's struggling and financially cash-strapped public broadcaster and Mott MacDonald Africa (Pty) Ltd for the replacement and repair of lifts and escalators at its Auckland Park headquarters invalid and unlawful.
The Gauteng local division of the High Court, in a case brought by South Africa's Special Investigating Unit (SIU), declared that the consulting contract that the SABC gave to Mott MacDonald Africa was unlawful and invalid.
The lifts and escalator replacement and repair contract was awarded during the era of the famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as SABC chief operating officer (COO) that had been described as a "reign of terror".
The court ruling by Judge Raylene Keightley declared the decision of the SABC to award the contract on 6 July 2015 unlawful and invalid, and accordingly reviewed and set aside.
The court also ordered Mott Macdonald Africa to pay back the profits it made in the contract to the SABC.
Mott Macdonald Africa was also ordered to provide a detailed breakdown of its reasonable expenses, verified by a duly qualified expert, within 30 days. The SABC was ordered to appoint an expert to verify the reasonableness of such expenses within 30 days thereafter.
"The systemic undermining of the procurement processes at the SABC was but one part of a much broader pattern of governance failings by the SABC under the executive leadership of, among others, Hlaudi Motsoeneng and SABC CEO James Aguma," Judge Raylene Keightley said.
In a statement on Sunday by SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago who used to the SABC's spokesperson, the SIU said that together with the SABC, the SIU took the case to the High Court for review on the basis that the SABC awarded the R7 033 464 contract to Mott Macdonald Africa without following its own prescribed procurement policy processes.
"The matter was centred around the fact that the SABC did not award the contract on an open-bidding basis but instead it treated Mott MacDonald Africa as a sole provider of services contrary to the regulatory rules of the procurement scheme," the SIU says.
Andy Mothibi, SIU head advocate, says "This is a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigations outcomes and consequence management to recover monies lost by the SABC. There are other cases enrolled in the High Court and the Special Tribunal awaiting adjudication and will result in further recoveries for the SABC".
