Pieces of the new border line between Zimbabwe and South Africa lie destroyed along the control road east of the Beit Bridge border post. (Photo: Isabel Venter / Maroela Media)
The FF Plus welcomed the Constitutional Court’s decision not to hear appeals from two construction companies against a ruling by the special tribunal on the controversial Beit Bridge border wire scandal.
The country’s highest court refused to hear appeals by Profteam CC and Caledon River Properties, trading as Magma Construction. At the time, the tribunal ordered that all profits made by the two companies from the Beit Bridge border fence project must be repaid.
According to the Constitutional Court, the merits of the appeals do not fall within its jurisdiction.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure awarded the R40 million contract during the covid-19 pandemic without a competitive tender process for the erection of a 40 km long razor wire fence on the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The contractors also received advance payments of around R21.8 million.
After completion, the fence began to collapse, and illegal border crossings continued.
Maroela Media earlier reported that the project to repair and replace the border wire at the Beit Bridge border post ended up costing R40.4 million, just over R1 million per kilometer, although the initial estimated cost was around R26 million.
Also Read: Beit Bridge Border Wire | Companies must pay back all profits
Holes like that can often be seen in the new boundary wire. (Photo: Isabel Venter / Maroela Media)
The Special Investigation Unit (SUE), which investigated the project as part of its post-procurement investigation during the covid-19 pandemic, found that the contracts were invalid due to procurement irregularities. The SOE also found that substandard building materials were used.
According to Philip van Staden, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson on public works and infrastructure, the party already welcomed the tribunal’s finding in 2020.
Van Staden said the end product of the project was nothing more than a “laundry line” of about 40 km between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
According to the FF Plus, taxpayers and the state were the biggest losers in the scandal. The party also repeatedly asked Patricia de Lille, at that time the minister of public works and infrastructure, about the project in parliament.
The FF Plus claims that De Lille abused the covid-19 disaster management law to carry out the project without following the necessary procurement processes, and believes that she should have accepted responsibility for this.
The party says it hopes further steps are taken to recover all wasted money on behalf of taxpayers and the state.