Gauteng government ripped off at Esidimeni hearing's venue 

18 April 2018

The company that charged the Gauteng Provincial Government R8.4 million for use of the Emoyeni Conference Centre for the Esidimeni Arbitration Hearings paid only R805 000 last year to rent this provincial-owned property in Parktown, Johannesburg.

This is revealed by Infrastructure Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to Mamabolo, a company called Keliana Consulting manages Emoyeni on behalf of the Department.

He says that the contract was awarded in 2005 to Keliana, but the tenant was not able to occupy the building due to renovations that occurred from 2006 to 2008, so the contract was adjusted for commencement from 2009 to 2013.

l am concerned that Keliana grossly overcharged for the Esidimeni hearings, and is paying too little money for a valuable government property.

The hearings took 45 days, which means that the provincial government was billed R186 000 per day.

Mamabolo says that his Department “is in the process of reviewing the total property portfolio in order to identity properties where income can be increased. This property will be included in that
exercise.”

I am aware that the ANC often has meetings at Emoyeni, and Keliana refused to provide me information some years ago about all the events that they do there after I did an application using the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

Their fishy contract with the Department needs to be reviewed and better terms negotiated, or another company given a chance to manage this venue.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 18 April 2018