Johannesburg - The DA in Gauteng has reiterated that the R350 million tender allocated to prominent businesswoman Solani Mtetwa to provide accommodation and training facilities to crime prevention wardens was “unfair and irregular” despite objections from the Gauteng provincial government.
Yesterday, the two provincial departments Economic Development and Community Safety issued a joint statement in which they refuted the claims by the DA that Mtetwa was formerly a board member of Dinokeng Tourism.
In their statement, the two departments said Mtetwa was the director for Solani Accountants and not a government employee. Solani Accountants was a private company appointed by the Department to provide accommodation and training facilities for the Crime Prevention Wardens.
The government said they would like to clarify that the tender procedures carried out for this project was fair and transparent, saying Solan Accountants was appointed through a deviation from the normal procurement process in terms of Treasury Regulation 16A 6.4, read in conjunction with the PFMA Treasury Instruction note 3 of 2021/2022. The necessary approval was granted by the Accounting Officer.
Ofentse Morwane and Bongiwe Gambu, speaking on behalf of Community Safety and Economic Development respectively, said the Department would like to categorically clarify that Dinokeng Tourism is not a government entity.
“It is confused with Dinokeng Project, which is a trading entity of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development, established in terms of section 36(3)(b) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Act 1 of 1999. Ms Mtetwa has never been an employee of Dinokeng Projects or any of the entities associated with GDED.
During the 2022/23 and 2021/22 financial year, through a normal procurement process, in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Mopani Lodge Resort and Solani Accountants were appointed by the Dinokeng Projects to supply a venue, accommodation and catering services in relation to the budgeted project aimed at building capacity for the Dinokeng Community Trust members at a total cost of R73,599.05 (seventy three thousand, five hundred and ninety nine Rands, five cents).
“The appointment was in order for the service provider to coordinate the administrative activities of the Dinokeng Tourism/DTO, in line with the approved Grant Thornton study conducted by the Dinokeng Project that sought to establish a working relationship between Dinokeng Project and its stakeholders in Dinokeng to advance the development, promotion and growth of the three hubs of Dinokeng,” Morwane and Gambu said.
The two said the media allegations stating that Mtetwa had been unethically awarded a tender of R350 million for accommodation of Crime Prevention Wardens “are therefore incorrect and misleading”.
“The appointment of Solani Accountants was above board as the bidder met the criteria at the time of their appointment to render accommodation and training services.
The Department has consistently appointed service providers with a proven track record of delivering services in record time and in line with the prescripts and regulations of Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (PFMA).
“It is against this backdrop that the Department assures members of the public that the Department as a responsible government has the necessary control measures in place to ensure that ethical procedures are followed to carry out the procurement processes,” the two said.
Morwane and Gambu said the department was calling upon anybody who has evidence to the contrary to report the matter to law enforcement authorities in support of the government-led fight against crime and corruption.
Contacted to comment on the government’s reaction, DA finance spokesperson Adriana Randall said the DA in Gauteng wished to correct their previous statement where they indicated that Mtetwa, who is the former board member and director of Dinokeng Tourism worked for the Dinokeng Project, which was an entity of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED).
The Dinokeng Tourism Organisation is an independent body and is not an entity of the GDED.
However, Randall said the contents of their previous statements on this issue was factually correct regarding the tenders awarded to Mtetwa.
“We would like to sincerely apologise for any distress this may have caused the GDED,” Randall.