Road tender 'improper'
Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:00
The North West department of roads and transport has filed
papers in the High Court in Pretoria seeking an eviction order
against two companies, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Matshube Mfoloe said MEC Mahlakeng Mahlekeng ordered Kaulani
Civils (Pty) Ltd and Moseme Construction to vacate construction
sites two weeks ago.
The companies were appointed to do work on the
Lichtenburg-Koster and Phokeng-Sun City roads.
However, both were named in a PriceWatershouseCoopers (PWC)
forensic investigation into companies improperly appointed to do
construction work on provincial roads, he said.
Mfoloe said the companies had failed to vacate the sites as
instructed by the MEC.
The department was now applying for a court order to evict them.
"Our application will be heard tomorrow [Wednesday]. It was
supposed to be heard on Tuesday, but we asked for postponement
after some documents from our application were found missing on
Monday," he said.
Mfoloe said the department had a plan to complete the project
before the soccer world cup.
"We can properly appoint [a] contractor on emergency basis to
complete the road," he said.
While the court case might delay construction, the department
was optimistic the project would be completed before the world cup.
"In the event the court rules in our favour, the companies might
appeal the decision and this will delay construction at the two
sites."