Controversial R15m Lesseyton Sports Facility in Enoch Mgijima Municipality revealed as mismanaged

Do you remember the controversial R15m Lesseyton Sports Facility built in the Enoch Mgijima municipality in the Eastern Cape?
The facility near Komani (formerly Queenstown) received massive backlash when it was unveiled in October 2021.
Images posted on social media showed a dry, bumpy field, small metal stands, and soccer and rugby uprights.
A report tabled to the council by MEC of Co-operative government and Traditional affairs Zolile Williams Wednesday (Today) revealed that the process to build the project was riddled with flaws from the start until the end. “There were procurement flaws in all material respect” said the report.
Responding to media queries then Enoch Mgijima municipality Spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said the project was justified, and that the council had made a significant investment in the rural village to support sports activities in the area.
Kowa said the R15m spent was not just for what was seen in the pictures that were circulating; not only were there construction-related expenses but also initial “survey, geotechnical and geohydrological tests” to determine if the site was suitable as a sports facility.
While the municipality defended the project then, Eastern Cape co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) has found in its investigations a contradicting explanation to that of Kowa. On the day of the unvailing the project attracted media attention prompting the department to institute an investigation to get to the bottom of the suspected fraud and corruption and above all to check if there was value for money in the stadium construction.
The report said that when the municipality took a resolution to build this sport facility, they contravened procurement processes in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003and deviated from the standard tender procurement processes.
.The following are the findings of the forensic report instituted by the department
- The project was advertised and secondly cancelled without an advert and was continued again without re advertising it.
- The scope of works of the tender and the price were changed without following the Supply Chain Management processes.
- The Municipality proceeded to appoint a contractor (Thulani Civils)which came out number 4 in terms of the adjudication process and ignored the top scoring companies.
- The contractor escalated the prices during the project without following tender processes.
- Specification of the tender as initially signed off by the Municipal Manager were different to the specifications that were adjudicated by the adjudication committee.
- The tender should not have gone through, however, they wanted to appoint Thalami Civils to do the sports field irrespective of whatever considerations.
- The tender was supposed to have been started from scratch.
- There was material manipulation and misrepresentation of the experience of expertise of the irregular appointed contractor.
The department recommended that
1All municipal officials who were behind irregularity must face prosecution.
- Municipal Officials who are still in the employment of the municipality must face internal disciplinary hearing.
- The officials must be removed from the Supply Chain Management Unit.
- Who ever was the Accounting Officer who authorised at the time of the tender must be held liable for this irregular expenditure. Municipal Spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa could not be reached on Wednesday as his cellphone was ringing without response till we published the story.
No tags for this post.