Public Protector must investigate most recent Cele tender scandal

Reports today reveal that suspended National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele signed off on a R26 million tender awarded to a businessman who allegedly showered top police officials with expensive gifts to approve the deal. 

Thoshan Panday, owner of Goldcoast Trading, was awarded the tender to provide accommodation for 1 280 police officers during the World Cup. Other earlier police deals to which Mr Panday is linked are currently under investigation.

There appear to have been a range of irregularities in the awarding of the World Cup accommodation tender, including:

• The contract did not go out to tender, which violates Treasury rules that state all contracts worth more than R500 000 must be subject to a competitive tender process.
• Cele signed the deal after his officials said that there was no time "to advertise the bid", despite the fact that Treasury rules state that the absence of proper planning is not a viable excuse for not pursing a competitive tender process.
• Mr Panday reportedly showered three key police officials with gifts in return for their approval of the deal. These gifts include paying a car rental bill for Major-General Ravi Pillay, who certified the World Cup tender as being urgent, paying R43 500 for the college fees of the son of Captain Aswin Narainpershad, the KwaZulu-Natal police supply chain manager who dealt with the accommodation quotes, paying R8 584 for flights for the family of the KwaZulu-Natal police supply-chain head, Colonel Navin Madhoe, and paying R60 000 for a car that was registered in Colonel Madhoe's son's name.

This recent tender scandal must be seen in the context of the ongoing attempts to discredit KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Boss Johan Booysen, who is leading the investigation into the earlier police deals to which Mr Panday is linked. In September last year, Mr Panday and Colonel Madhoe were arrested after being accused of trying to pay Major-General Booysen R2 million to obtain access to a piece of evidence being used in the investigation into the deals.

I will therefore today be writing to the Public Protector Adv. Thuli Madonsela to request an investigation into the following:

• The awarding of the R26 million World Cup accommodation tender;
• the gifts that were reportedly received by police officials in return for their decision to approve the tender; and
• the repeated unsuccessful attempts to suspend Major-General Booysen for his role in the sensitive police deals investigation.

In addition, the police officials implicated in this tender scandal should be suspended pending the outcome of the Public Protector's investigation. Given the facts at hand, it is untenable for them to continue in their current positions - where they are supposed to ensure that the law is upheld and respected - when serious questions are being asked about their involvement in criminal activities. 

This scandal is yet another example of why Bheki Cele cannot continue as Head of the SAPS. For someone who has abused his position of responsibility to serve as the head of our police service is an insult to the thousands of brave men and women of the SAPS who dedicate their lives to ensuring South Africans can live their lives in safety. 

Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, March 25 2012

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