Minister de Lille Needs to be Serious About Investigating Beitbridge

4 June 2020

In March, South Africans were rightly outraged by the images of a simple barb-wire fence being erected at the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Today we have learnt of the Director General of Public Works defending this fence in Parliament, claiming the fence isdoing its job.

Minister de Lille confirmed the AG would investigate the work done, but most South Africans could see that that fence was not going to last a day – and it didn’t.

Minister de Lille, in media reports, has named the company awarded this work as Magwa construction. A forensic team that is working with The People’s Dialogue has reported to me that the company’s sole director passed away in 2014.

The contact numbers listed for Magwa Construction is the same as that of Caledon River Properties, who trades under the same listed address as Magwa Construction.

While it is not clear what has transpired with this tender, the following needs no further clarity:

South Africans did not get value for money for this work, because R37 million was spent on a fence that any South African could have pointed out would not last a day.

South Africans have made it clear to The People’s Dialogue that they are fed up with the casual approach our national government takes to border control – especially in a time of a worldwide pandemic.

The information arising from our forensic team indicates that an AG investigation into the value for money of the contract is insufficient. A full forensic investigation should be announced by the Minister to determine whether criminal activity has taken place.

I am calling on Minister de Lille to take this matter seriously and take serious steps beyond what has been announced so far. We do not need an investigation to know whether value for money was achieved in this project, common sense and the destruction of the fence within 24 hours have answered that question.

What is needed is clarity around this tender, and accountability for the officials in government that wasted R37 million on a fence that barely slowed down illegal immigrants and the flow of counterfeit goods into South Africa.

The Minister’s efforts to distance herself from the tender process does not relieve her of the duty to provide leadership on the issue of border control.

Equally, her party’s alliance with the ANC does not mean that she should be silenced in a long career of exposing corruption.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, Founder, People’s Dialogue, 4 June 2020