Azapo calls for government tender process to be reviewed

By Ofentse Mokae
22 February 2010

The Azanian People’s Organisation has called for a total review of government tendering process.

The party says this is sequel to corruption that is associated with such awards.

The party says in a statement, politicians and government officials are the main benefactors of such tenders as service delivery takes a second place.

The call comes in wake of revelations about ANC Youth League President Julius Malema’s multi-million business deals he has made with various municipalities in the Limpopo province.

His party the ANC, the mother body of the league, has come to Malema’s defence saying there should not be any problem with Malema’s business ventures with government as he is not an MP or a government employee.

Azapo says in most cases, companies that are awarded tenders do not have requisite skills and capacity to deliver on the task that they are charged with while on the other hand, and there is no discernible attempt on the part of the government to recoup monies lost due to lack of service delivery by such companies.

“It is therefore no wonder that people such as Julius Malema and Siphiwe Nyanda are today millionaires and benefactors of government tenders. It is because there are no checks and balances in place to guide who can apply for government tenders,” said the party.