Minister Fikile Mbalula: Adjudication of SANRAL tenders

• Published date: 23 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

We have taken note of the reports relating to the cancellation of 5 tenders with a collective value of R17.4 billion. These are strategic projects that are critical in growing our economy as part of our investments in infrastructure.

Good governance is a key tenet of our service delivery mandate and we will not compromise its underlying principles for expediency.

We have learnt invaluable lessons from the advent of state capture which brought to the fore lapses that paralysed strategic organs of state through rampant corruption that was left unchecked for too long.

We have seen at PRASA how the malfeasance and irregular contracts compromised service delivery and delayed the implementation of its modernization programme by close to a decade, with major contracts held up in the courts. Today, we are still paying the price for those irregularities and corrupt practices.

SANRAL is a strategic State-Owned Company that plays a major role in building and managing our national road network that drives our economy and connecting our centres of economic activity to the markets. It remains one of our best performing entities with a good track record on delivering mega projects.

The SANRAL Board, as its Accounting Authority, is bound by its fiduciary duties in terms of the SANRAL Act, the Companies Act and the Public Finance Management Act.

The Board must, at all times, act in the best interest of the company.

SANRAL is responsible for major projects that are critical in giving forward momentum to economic recovery and growth. The track record of SANRAL over the two decades of its existence has given us comfort that it has the requisite capacity and skills to execute its mandate. We have no reason to believe otherwise.

I have directed the Board to provide me with a detailed report in line with its responsibilities as enshrined in the relevant laws.

The Minister has no role in the procurement processes and we have no interest in the identity of the bidders. Our only interest is to ensure that the Board has given expression to the letter and spirit of the SANRAL Act and other applicable prescripts in the exercise of its...