Invalid R263m tanker tender hits a nerve
While some Johannesburg residents shell out for private tankers that charge up to R1/litre – versus R30 for 1 000 litres of municipal water – others are left to chase the tankers through the suburbs, hoping that by the time they find one it hasn’t run out of water.
However, the city’s tanker contracts are now in jeopardy after the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) declared them ‘invalid’.
amaBhungane reports that the contract – estimated to be worth R263m – was awarded in 2024 to two little-known but seemingly connected companies: Builtpro Construction and Nutinox.
The two companies were contracted to supply 70 water tankers to the City of Johannesburg for a three-year period. However, in December, just one year into the contract, the court accepted a rival bidder’s argument that the tender had lapsed before it was awarded, making the contracts with Builtpro and Nutinox invalid.
During the court case, Johannesburg Water refused to disclose how much it had already paid to the two companies.
‘The agreements and the terms on which they were concluded as well as the payments made to Builtpro and Nutinox, thus remain shrouded in mystery,’ Judge Evette Dippenaar wrote in her judgment.
The court agreed to suspend the order for five months to give the city time to put another contract in place.
But Johannesburg Water and Nutinox applied for leave to approach the SCA to have the ruling overturned, suspending the judgment in its entirety. And while the appeal process continues, the same companies will keep supplying tankers to the city, leaving communities dependent on a system the High Court has already ruled legally invalid.
amaBhungane reports that Builtpro listed its address as an office park in Illovo, while Nutinox claimed to operate from Midrand’s Waterfall Estate.
These addresses had helped the companies to score extra points as Johannesburg Water scored the bids using a 90/10 points system, which allocated 90 points for price and 10 points for other criteria: six points for being located in Johannesburg, two points for being in Gauteng and only two points for being a black-owned business with a turnover of less than R10m.
However, at both addresses, there is no sign of thriving water tanker businesses.
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.
