KNYSNA NEWS - The municipal public accounts committee (MPAC) has launched a crackdown on tenders and payments aimed at clawing back at least R11,5m in irregular expenditure.
Three items served at a recent special Knysna council meeting but after the matter was referred to an in-committee session, only one item, involving the R11,5m, was passed with the DA, KIM and one PA councillor voting in favour.
This follows flaws identified by the MPAC in a tender submitted by a Closed Corporation member representing Megaflow, a supplier of pumps, equipment and maintenance.
The resolution instructed the municipal manager to recover the full contract amount of R11 529 030.24 from Megaflow and that the company, and a Closed Corporation member representing it, be reported to the police. Megaflow is also to be reported to National Treasury as a restricted/defaulter supplier.
News
Keith Naicker of Megaflow said he had heard nothing of this from the Knysna Municipality.
“This is news to me. Until I receive official communication from Knysna, I cannot comment on this,” he said.
The MPAC report followed on the investigation of irregular expenditure identified by the auditor-general during the 2023/2024 financial year.
The investigation by MPAC, under chairmanship of KIM councillor Susan Campbell, who was recently appointed MPAC chairperson, found that the service provider, Keineli Investments CC trading as Megaflow, did not comply with a special qualifying condition of the tender. This required a millwright, with 10 years post trade experience, to be employed for the duration of the contract period. It was established that the said employee was not a qualified millwright, but an electrician by trade.
Referred back
Other key members of MPAC are DA chief whip Sharon Sabbagh, Levael Davis (DA) and Waleed Grootboom (PA).
The other items from MPAC that served at the same meeting were referred back after a vote passed by the ruling ANC coalition.
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