Public Works’ Zikalala sets up committee to weed out rampant corruption and unscrupulous contractors

A newly appointed Restriction Committee and Authority is rooting out rampant corruption and unscrupulous contractors, according to Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Sihle Zikalala. 

Briefing the media on Sunday, the minister said it was time for hoodwinking the government through poor quality workmanship and “deceitful liquidations” to end. The new committee, comprising legal, supply chain, construction, security and internal control specialists and representatives, would ensure there were consequences for those duping the government, he said. 

“The committee’s role is to consider all cases that are presented to it for restricting service providers who have abused the supply chain system or failed to perform on contracts. The departmental procedure requires that branches who experience challenges with performance of appointed contractors or consultants submit a motivation for restriction to the committee, who then considers the merits of the matter. 

“The committee also ensures that Treasury regulations are complied with, to the extent that the contractor or consultant must be allowed to make representations as to why they should not be restricted or blacklisted,” Zikalala said. 

Construction mafias and corrupt contractors have been at the centre of the woes of the ailing construction industry. In a briefing last month, as reported on by Daily Maverick, Zikalala said the construction mafia had cost the economy R68-billion as a result of their impact on almost 200 projects. Six hundred and five cases have been opened; however, there have been complaints that police have been lagging behind on their investigations. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Daylight robbery – construction mafia uses procurement policy muddle to take its cut

This is not the first effort by Zikalala’s department to weed out corruption in the construction industry. A collaboration between Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) identified almost 150 suspects related to cases of murder, public violence, intimidation, assault, damage to property, pointing guns, kidnapping, trespassing and extortion. Zikalala said more than 700 people had been arrested. All of these developments occurred between October 2022 and February 2023. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Murderous construction mafias have brought many companies to their knees – with SAPS help, the fightback has started

As far as the new committee is concerned, the department will restrict service providers that are in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act and/or the General Conditions of Contract where performance is concerned. If the committee finds that there has been a contravention of procurement regulations, the matter will be escalated to National Treasury, which will then decide whether to restrict the contractor/s or not. The maximum restriction period from doing business with the government is 10 years. The committee meets weekly to deliberate on restriction matters. 

The department has so far recommended seven service providers to the National Treasury for restriction, with all but one having successfully appealed their cases. The remaining case concerns a service provider involved in a contract at the Beitbridge border post, where a 40km fence between South Africa and Zimbabwe was erected in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Mending fences – Sihle Zikalala probes gaping safety gaps at Beitbridge border post

“The cases referred back to the Department by National Treasury where advice is stating that the restriction must be made in terms of the General Conditions of Contract. These matters are now on the agenda of the Restriction Committee which is currently processing the restrictions,” Zikalala said. DM