The Special Tribunal has ruled that a lease entered into by the Public Works Department 17 years ago for offices for the police’s Pietermaritzburg Family Violence, Child Protection & Sexual Offences Unit is invalid, reports TimesLIVE.

However, because the unit still occupies the premises, Judge Lebogang Modiba suspended the order to ensure there was no disruption to ‘services to the most vulnerable members of society’.

Modiba said irregularities in the awarding of the lease to Plebian Properties ‘infracted every requirement in section 217 of the Constitution’.

However, she noted that any monetary claim against the company had prescribed.

She also said there was no basis to SIU allegations that the company ‘induced the award of the bid by fraud’.

‘This matter displays some of the difficulties the SIU may encounter to recover monies the state has lost ... in the context of endemic procurement irregularities, corruption and maladministration that has endured over a long period of time,’ Modiba said.

‘There are just too many cases to investigate and with limited resources, the SIU’s efforts may be futile unless legislative changes are introduced to remove the legal inhibitions it is likely to face.’

The lease was first procured in 2004 and renewed five times.

The application was opposed by Plebian Properties.

The parties had since signed a settlement agreement.

Modiba found that after the bid closed, Plebian, as the highest bidder, was given the opportunity by department officials to offer a lower bid, ‘giving it an unfair advantage’.

Full TimesLIVE report