The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) welcomes the Special Tribunal’s ruling ordering the construction company, Easyway, Tarmac, Pave and Projects CC, to repay nearly R69 million to the Mogalakwena Local Municipality (Mokopane/Potgietersrus).
This ruling follows a successful application by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which found that the company fraudulently obtained a R167,9 million tender for water infrastructure in 2018 by making false claims about previous projects and qualifications.
The company claimed, among other things, that it had completed three projects worth over R50 million each. However, one of these projects amounted to only R6,1 million while another did not exist at all.
The SIU also found that the company’s contractor grading legally disqualified it from being awarded the tender in question.
In the Freedom Front Plus’s view, the Special Tribunal’s decision is a significant step in the fight against corruption and maladministration in local government.
Mogalakwena has been struggling to supply residents with reliable and clean water for years; a problem exacerbated by dilapidated infrastructure, financial mismanagement and the political protection of corrupt contractors.
This ruling proves that contractors should be appointed based on merit, not political or personal connections.
Contractors who lie about their qualifications or manipulate procurement processes should be blacklisted and excluded from consideration for any future tenders.
That is the only way to restore accountability and service delivery.
Mogalakwena deserves a municipality working for its residents – not one doling out their hard-earned tax money to incompetent contractors.
Freedom Front Plus Crime Prevention: The party emphasizes the need for effective crime prevention strategies.
What is Fraud? “Fraud” is any activity that relies on deception in order to achieve a gain. Fraud becomes a crime when it is a “knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment” (Black’s Law Dictionary). In other words, if you lie in order to deprive a person or organization of their money or property, you’re committing fraud.