Will Tshwane ANC support open tender procedure?

The R1.2 billion which Tshwane residents are set to pay for new municipal headquarters vindicates the DA proposal that the municipality opens its Tender Adjudication Committee to members of the public.

Earlier in the week, the Gauteng MEC for local government, in response to a question by DA MPL Mike Moriarty, revealed that the staggering price would be paid to an unknown bidder for the provision of a new building.

The new structure will replace the Munitoria building. Parts of Munitoria were gutted by a fire in 1997 and never repaired but the dilapidated state of the building is also attributable to generally poor maintenance.

Although the question remains whether repairing and properly maintaining the existing building would not have been the best option, it is hard to imagine that a more cost-effective bid for a new building could not be sought.

The DA is convinced that opening the Tender Adjudication Committee of the municipality will save Tshwane residents millions of rand and result in better services being delivered. If members of the public are allowed to attend these meetings as observers and if the media is allowed to report on them, it will exert healthy pressure on municipal officials to properly apply their minds and consider all possible options in awarding tenders. It would also serve as a powerful corruption deterrent.

On Thursday's meeting of the Tshwane Metropolitan Council I will motivate a redrafted version of my previous motion, disallowed by the Speaker on technical grounds, to open Tender Adjudication Committee meetings to the public.

Whether the ANC uses its majority in the Council to support the motion or not will be a reliable test of its commitment to openness and accountability as well its commitment to effective service delivery for all.

Statement issued by Cilliers Brink, Tshwane Metropolitan Council, Pretoria, September 28 2011

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