Authorities launch bid to cancel ‘asbestos scam’ contract
Free State housing authorities and the SIU have launched far-reaching litigation to cancel the so-called ‘asbestos scam’ contract – and to recover the R225m spent on it.
A News24 report says the SIU and Free State Government want the Free State High Court (Bloemfontein) to order that the Service Level Agreement entered into by the Free State Department of Human Settlements and businessman Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting/Diamond Hill joint venture to be reviewed and set aside.
They further want all the decisions and instructions that flowed from that agreement to be declared unlawful and ask that the High Court grants ‘consequential relief for the recovery of all financial losses suffered by the Free State Department of Human Settlements’ as a result of these allegedly invalid decisions.
Specifically, they want the High Court to order that the R225m spent on the contract must be repaid to the Free State Member of the Executive Council on Human Settlements.
Acting head of the Free State Department of Human Settlements, Tshepo Tsuaeli, revealed in court papers that – prior to the State Capture Inquiry investigating the asbestos scam – President Cyril Ramaphosa had issued a 2019 proclamation that authorised an SIU investigation into the debacle.
Tsuaeli then outlined what that investigation uncovered in relation to the allegedly unlawful and irregular way in which the asbestos eradication project came into being.
No competitive bidding process was followed, Treasury regulations were allegedly manipulated to push the deal through and, according to Tsuaeli, implicated officials blatantly lied to validate the deal.
In his founding affidavit, Tsuaeli said the contract to perform asbestos audits at R1 350 per house was invalid and unlawful, Volksblad reports.
According to the department, suspended departmental head Edwin Nthimotse Mokhesi referred to a study about the status of asbestos roofs in the province in the tender process, but no such study could be found.
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.
