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Mayibuye Transport Corporation tender manipulation is a travesty

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Dear MyPE

It was reported in the media today that an R81-million rand tender to supply Mayibuye Transport Company with buses was awarded to a firm that did not meet the requirements and was registered months before the contract was awarded.

When the story of this tender manipulation first emerged on 23 January 2016, I tabled a question for written reply to the MEC of Transport.

It is now abundantly clear that the whole tender was manipulated and delayed in order to cater for a preferred bidder. This manipulation appears to have enjoyed the collusion of various people in the Mayibuye Transport Corporation (MTC) and the so-called successful “bidder”, Siga Capital Assets.

It also appears that the tender specifications that were originally determined in order to create an “inside track” for a preferred bidder where not even met by the so-called successful bidder.

We have already seen R 2.5-billion wasted in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro with the IPTS road passenger bus transport system that has to date not transported one commuter.

This latest scandal is symptomatic of a government and some of its officials that seek only to enrich themselves and their cronies through fraud and corruption at the expense of long suffering taxpayers and citizen’s needs.

I have written today to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, MPL Tamara Xhanti, to request an urgent meeting with the leadership of MTC to get a comprehensive presentation on this clearly manipulated tender. (Letter attached)

If this request is not given the relevant urgent attention I will move a motion that this matter is referred to the Provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA).

The DA will not allow such blatant tender rigging and waste of state resources at the expense of poor commuters who rely solely on a reliable, efficient, effective and affordable public transport service.

This is even more important in this time of tight economic recession where every tax rand must be stretched to provide proper service delivery and value for money.

Regards

Marshall von Buchenroder

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