The City of Tshwane says it rejected a rescue plan presented by businessman Edwin Sodi’s company because the R292m Rooiwal tender has already been terminated due to poor performance.
Sodi had claimed in his letter responding to the city's intentions to blacklist his companies - NJR Projects and Blackhead Consulting - that he would have finished the project if the rescue plan had been accepted.
He further said he was not to blame for the failed project, saying his late partner Rudolf Schoeman, director of Water Engineering had committed fraud.
“The completion of the project ultimately failed due to the fraudulent conduct of Mr. R [Rudolf] Schoeman, a director of CMS Water," said Sodi in the letter.
“The consequence of the fraud perpetrated by Mr. Schoeman resulted in NJR laying criminal charges with the SAPS and pursuant to an investigation, Mr. Schoeman was arrested and charged with fraud.
“Save for this fraud, NJR would have delivered the project in accordance with the scope of works,” states the letter.
The city yesterday told Sowetan that the offer made by Sodi's company was "a non starter as the tender had already been terminated".
“It is common knowledge that there was a forensic report which made an adverse finding on the tender award itself and there are external and internal processes underway dealing with the award,” said city spokesperson Selby Bokaba.
He said the municipality would engage with Sodi's lawyers.
“The whole matter is a legal process which is being ventilated at appropriate forums, and we will not be making any further comment through the media.”
A source familiar with the tender process said: “The offer [by Sodi] was odd because it basically sought to regularise an irregularly awarded tender.”
In the letter, Sodi pleaded for "a fair hearing" and that he should be afforded a fair opportunity to prepare for the hearing as the matter dates back to 2018.
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A forensic report by Ligwa Advisory Services commissioned by the city found that five Tshwane officials who made up the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) ignored obvious red flags which would have immediately eliminated Sodi’s companies.
The committee was responsible to appoint a contractor to upgrade the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant's capacity which would have improved the quality of drinking water in cholera-hit Hammanskraal.
More than 20 people died in that area from the waterborne disease.
According to the report, CMS, NJR and Blackhead JV should not have been allowed to bid as they did not have the required grading from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). The grading is an indicator of how contractors handle their finances and assigned projects.
In June, Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink announced that the joint venture between Sodi’s two companies NJR Projects and Blackhead Consulting as well as their partner CMS Water Engineering had been given 14 days to respond to the intention to blacklist them.
Sodi's lawyers, however, said the joint venture’s failure to meet its obligations could not be attributed to NJR.
The lawyers said they made a last-ditch effort to prevent the termination of the contract and gave the city a “rescue plan” that NJR would deliver CMS’s portion of the work in addition to its own.
CMS was responsible for the design, manufacturing, procurement, installation, testing, and commissioning of electrical and mechanical components for the project and NJR was responsible for the construction of civil structures and the installation of associated gravitation lines for the project.
According to the letter, NJR provided the city with a comprehensive plan to achieve this, but the city rejected it, and instead terminated the contract.
“NJR was severely prejudiced by the criminal conduct of a rogue joint venture partner. It is not fair nor reasonable to hold the directors and shareholders of our clients responsible in any way for the CMS’s shortcomings which rendered the joint venture unable to deliver on the project, bearing in mind that NJR tendered a rescue plan and Blackhead was not appointed to the project,” read the lawyers letter to the city.
They requested the city to “urgently” clarify whether it had already made a decision to blacklist the company, and if so, they were instructed to challenge such a decision.
They said the restrictions which the city is attempting to impose “is severe and has far-reaching consequences for our clients”.
chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za
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