Public Protector to investigate Johannesburg's R1.25 billion Reddy tender

The Democratic Alliance (DA) today received confirmation from the Public Protector's office that it will investigate the questionable contract awarded to Vivian Reddy's Edison Corporation to install smart meters in the City of Johannesburg. This follows our request for an investigation submitted on the 18th of January. 

We warmly welcome this investigation. The Public Protector has indicated that the investigation will be conducted by its good governance unit. We will cooperate with the unit and provide all the assistance we can.

There are a number of troubling questions with this tender that the Public Protector must resolve:

• Why was the tender inflated from R800 million to R1.25 billion after it was awarded to Edison?
• Why were the original bid scores changed to Edison's advantage?
• Why was the tender awarded solely to Edison after the bid committee recommended that it be awarded to multiple bidders?
• What role did the City Power managing director, Sicelo Xulu, play in changing the bid scores?

We believe that the process followed in awarding this tender was fundamentally flawed to advantage Mr Reddy's company. The Public Protector must now get to work to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. 

Statement issued by Mmusi Maimane, DA National Spokesperson, February 4 2013

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter