Contractors in the Makhado Municipal area are accusing the municipality of being biased in the awarding of tenders. They claim that the municipality is appointing outside contractors, rather than making use of local companies.

"The municipality has blacklisted us for no reason, and we want to know why?" said one of the contractors, who wished to stay anonymous.

In February, aggrieved contractors wrote an attorney’s letter to the Makhado Municipality wherein they ask the Makhado mayor, Cllr Mavhungu Luruli, to investigate the “prejudice” against local contractors. A copy of the letter, issued by Advocate Kenny Sivhaga, is in the newspaper´s possession. Copies were also sent to the premier’s office and the Department of Local Government.

The letter states that the ”Makhado Municipality´s Technical Service Department is prejudicing local service providers. The manner in which tenders are awarded is too biased. There are certain local service providers that are being blacklisted for no reason."

It is further stated that the awarding of tenders in the municipality is not based on competency and that there are a lot of irregularities which take place when the tenders are being awarded. Furthermore, it is outlined that the new technical service director allegedly favours outside contractors who, in most cases, do not possess competency. As a result, the quality of the work is compromised.

In his letter, Adv Sivhaga further says that his clients demand an independent investigation into the allegations and that the awarding of tenders at the municipality be temporarily suspended until the issue has been resolved.

The letter was brought to the attention of the mayor to respond to the allegation. The newspaper also conducted its own investigation and it was established that several contractors from Polokwane had been appointed to render services at the municipality during 2010.

The Polokwane companies included Phumelelo Industrial Supplies and Kennedy´s Electrical JV. They were appointed to electrify Njakanjaka Village (Tender 92 of 2010 ) at a cost of just over R4 million. Chauke and Blue Dot Joint Venture were appointed for a street-surfacing project in Eltivillas (Tender 98 of 2010) to the amount of just over R9,7 million, while Arena Venus Africa Trading were appointed to construct the Murunwa Access Road and Bridge (Tender 100 of 2010) to the amount of just over R4 million. Kedibone Construction was awarded an electrification contract at Vleifontein and Parkview (Tender 94 of 2010) to the amount of just over R1,7 million, while Kgaugelo Kae Kae Business Enterprise was appointed to electrify Vuwani Township (Tender 95 of 2010) to the amount of just over R1,4 million. Jadashota Construction, also a Polokwane-based company, was awarded a tender to construct a community hall at Ha-Mutsha Village (Tender 96 of 2010) to the amount of just over R4,4 million.

The appointment of these companies has angered local contractors.

When contacted for comment, Makhado municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi confirmed receipt of the letter. He immediately dismissed claims that the municipality had blacklisted local contractors. "We have referred the letter to our legal section, where it is receiving attention. We will respond to the complaint directly to the concerned legal representative, which is Kenny Sivhaga Attorneys," he said.

Bobodi added that the municipality was following the right procedures when awarding tenders. "Complaints are welcomed and people who feel that we are not doing the right thing must feel free to contact the municipality. We have an open-door policy," Bobodi said.