Government probes ‘suspicious’ abalone contract
The government is investigating a ‘suspicious’ emergency contract to process and market the state’s stockpile of confiscated abalone – about 90 tons worth R60m – awarded to a previously unheard-of company, says a Sunday Times report. Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Senzeni Zokwana reportedly told the newspaper he had suspended the contract after allegations of tender irregularities in the appointment last month of Johannesburg-based Willjarro.
The three-month contract involves processing and marketing poached abalone seized by police, previously handled by I&J subsidiary Walker Bay Canners in Hermanus.
The Minister declined to divulge the nature of the allegations against Willjarro. The Minister’s move came the day after a rival abalone marketing company, Shamode Trading and Investments, approached the Western Cape High Court for an urgent interdict to have the emergency contract set aside.
Among other things, court documents claim the appointment of Willjarro did not follow Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries supply chain management procedures, and the processing and marketing tender was not advertised.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
