After Rooiwal Tender Deal, Five Tshwane Officials Were Placed on Precautionary Suspension.

Five top officials have been placed on precautionary suspension by the City of Tshwane due to the contentious Rooiwal tender deal.

This comes after they were found guilty on one of the four charges they were facing during a year-long internal disciplinary procedure.

Among the Charges Are:

Permitting Blackhead Consulting to move on to the next review phase without obtaining the necessary CIDB 9CE or 9ME and without being registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

– Making decisions based on consensus rather than conducting separate evaluations as members of the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC).

– The conclusion of Blackhead Consulting’s professional services in cases where the city has previously chosen another firm to provide such services. As a result, the city had to pay R10 999 786.96.

– Assessing the winning bidder for 1,4-meter belt presses when the specifications called for 2 meters.

According to Selby Bokaba, a city spokesperson, the five officials were given the chance to explain why they shouldn’t be punished after receiving letters of precautionary suspension on Wednesday.

“Last Friday, a decision was made to put them on a precautionary suspension with full pay. The officials received a one-month unpaid suspension after being found guilty on one charge but not guilty on the other three.

“The City has decided to file an appeal with the Labour Court challenging the entire outcome of the disciplinary process since it vehemently disagrees with its conclusion. The City believes that their continuous presence at work will be harmful to the municipality’s stability.”

Bokaba continues, stating that the officials were accused of egregiously negligent and/or derelict behavior in the course of carrying out their duties, and that as a result of their actions, numerous laws, rules, and conduct codes were broken.

The disciplinary board chairperson proposed a one-month unpaid suspension for the officials after they were found guilty on the fourth accusation, despite not being found guilty on the first three. The city requested legal counsel because it was dissatisfied and thought the chairperson’s conclusions were incorrect.

“The legal opinion suggested that the five implicated officials ought to have been dismissed on the finding of guilt of charge 4 by the Chairperson, in line with section 14A of the Code of Conduct, and Clause 2.7.6 and/or Clause 2.70.10 of the Collective Agreement.”

The decision to suspend the employees on full pay while the ruling is reviewed was decided, according to City Manager Johann Mettler, taking into account the seriousness and nature of the charges as well as the irreversible breakdown of the trust relationship.

“The officials are senior employees of the municipality and majority of them on the BEC are engineers and ought to have applied themselves properly when evaluating the tender regarding the belt pressers” , Mettler stated.