Forensic Investigation Dismisses Political Interference Claims in Afrirent Tender
26 June 2019
Release: immediate
Yesterday, I was briefed on the final forensic investigative report into the City's fleet contract awarded to Afrirent in 2018, following its submission to the City Manager.
In November 2018, amaBhungane released an article which made serious claims of criminality against the City of Johannesburg.
Specifically, the article cited a payment from Afrirent to a company with alleged links to the EFF as evidence that the tender had been influenced in exchange for the approval of our 2018/19 budget.
At the time, I indicated that our Group Forensics and Investigation Services (GFIS) unit, led by General Shadrack Sibiya, would investigate these claims and that our multi-party government should be judged by its findings and how we respond to them.
The forensic report dismisses any notion that there was political interference or influence in the award of the contract to Afrirent through a thorough process which included, engaging the amaBhungane journalist who had written the original story.
The investigation involved interviews with officials involved in the supply chain management processes of the Regulation 32 award, and no official claimed to have been pressured or influenced, politically or otherwise.
As a part of the affidavit I submitted to the investigation, which is included in the report, I indicated that I had not been aware of the award of the contract to Afrirent, until long after the budget had been approved.
This renders any claim that the budget had somehow been negotiated on the basis of this award, to be without any foundation whatsoever.
The negotiations, at the time, around the approval of the 2018/19 budget, were the product of multi-party coalition negotiations. Difficult issues had to be grappled with, relating to how we manage down the cost of services when increases passed onto the City by ESKOM and Rand Water were exorbitant.
Simultaneously, the funding of our considerable efforts to address infrastructural and social backlogs were an essential component of the negotiations.
The investigation has confirmed that the payment in question was a product of a contractual relationship between Afrirent and another sphere of government to whom they are contracted.
This was confirmed independently by both Afrirent and that other sphere of government concerned.
The report indicates that Afrirent is a company with contracts to over 30 different departments and spheres of government in South Africa. The reliance, solely upon the timing of the payment, to locate it within the contract between Afrirent and the City of Johannesburg was profoundly flawed.
GFIS was not at liberty to define the contractual relationship between Afrirent and another sphere of government or investigate it, beyond refuting its relevance to the City of Johannesburg.
It is therefore essential to reiterate that the forensic investigation clears our multi-party government of any wrongdoing on the part of its political leadership. The claims to this effect, made at the time by amaBhungane were reckless and a far cry from the high standard of investigative journalism associated with amaBhungane.
It is worth noting that throughout the course of this investigation the journalist had the opportunity to provide any evidence to prove the claims in the amaBhungane article and was unable to do so.
Where the report did make material findings of concern, relate to the administration of the City of Johannesburg and its supply chain management processes. The supply chain processes to appoint a service provider for the City's fleet requirements were beset by unnecessary delays requiring constant extensions with the previous service provider.
Furthermore, the original tender process was declared invalid by a probity report which found material and fatal flaws in the process followed. The investigation found that the probity report was correct in its assessments.
Both the delays and the failed tender process, placed the City in the invidious position of having to exercise emergency provisions of the MFMA to avoid the interruption of essential services dependent on our fleet contract, which included JMPD and EMS vehicles.
For these serious failures the City has initiated disciplinary action against various officials, two of whom resigned prior the commencement of their disciplinary hearings. In this respect, the City Manager had already acted responsibly by taking the necessary consequence management steps.
The report has indicated a number of other officials within the City who were culpable for the poor management of the supply chain processes, which placed the City into the crisis situation which resulted in the Regulation 32 Process.
However, the report is very clear on the fact that because of this crisis, the City's choice to pursue the Regulation 32 award to Afrirent and the process that was followed was reasonable and devoid of any political interference.
The City of Johannesburg will also be writing to National Treasury for them to confirm their satisfaction with the process followed.
The multi-party government will continue to its efforts to combat fraud, corruption and wrongdoing that have already achieved feats unparalleled in local government. Our multi-party government does not have different rules for political leaders.
When accusations are made against us, we will ensure that they are independently investigated and openly communicated with our residents.
In the interests of transparency and bringing this matter to a conclusion, I will also be seeking a meeting with senior editors from amaBhungane to take them through the report in order to set the record straight and avoid such damaging inferences being made in future.
Cllr Herman Mashaba
Executive Mayor
City of Johannesburg
For media queries:
Luyanda Mfeka
Director: Media Communications
Office of the Executive Mayor
City of Joburg
Email: luyandam@joburg.org.za
Call: 076 171 5978
