The battle over who should feed millions of Gauteng pupils is far from over.In the latest development, the provincial education department is being challenged by one losing bidder after it admitted that the proper procurement process had not been followed in awarding the R1 billion tender.
This has led to the non-delivery of food at many schools in the province, while others have complained about the quality of the food delivered.
The R1 billion contract was awarded to 47 service providers on 20 June this year. Now, one of the losing bidders, LTC Holdings, has brought an urgent court application, to force the department to do emergency procurement, following its admission that it had not followed the normal process.
On Friday, LTC Holdings director David Lesito said his company intended to make an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on 27 August.
The notice of motion reads: “That the declaration of invalidity be suspended until 30 September 2024, alternatively 14 January 2025, alternatively for such a period as considered reasonable by the honourable court; that the first respondent [Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane] be ordered to immediately commence an emergency procurement process to procure the relevant goods and services from the date of the lapsing of the suspension of the declaration of invalidity.”
Lesito said he wanted the court to order Chiloane to start a new tender process to procure the food immediately.Through his lawyers, Albert Hibbert Attorneys, Lesito said, if the MEC and the 47 companies that were irregularly appointed intended to oppose the motion, they should do so by the close of business on Monday. The demand for the R1 billion tender to be readvertised comes after the lawyers representing the Gauteng education department admitted in court that the prescribed tender processes had not been followed.
The tender was meant to provide the pupils with breakfast and lunch as part of government’s National School Nutrition Programme.The programme is aimed at ensuring that the schoolchildren are not hungry while they are being taught.
In Gauteng alone, more than 1 million pupils depend on the scheme.In his initial challenge to have the tender set aside, Lesito said his company had submitted “a responsive tender that complied with all the tender requirements”, but LTC Holdings was irregularly disqualified by the officials. His affidavit reads:The purpose of this application is to declare as constitutionally invalid the aforesaid tender award of the first respondent [Chiloane]. “The applicant [LTC Holdings CC] accepts that, if the tender’s validity period lapses before an award, the first respondent should proceed with a new tender process.
“However, only if the honourable court finds that the first respondent timeously made the tender award, the applicant seeks a referral back to the first respondent to reconsider the tenders and to then make a new award.”
Some schools in Gauteng have already complained that they have not received any food, while those that did said the quality was poor. City Press has seen a list of at least ten schools that did not receive food deliveries when the schools reopened last month after the winter break.
In some schools, the suppliers delivered vegetables only and, according to the recipients, the quality of the food “left plenty to be desired”.One school principal, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised by the department to speak to the media, said they had to dismiss classes early after the pupils complained of hunger because of a lack of food. Said the principal: We know they [the pupils] are from poor backgrounds. Some of them were getting a proper meal here because at home they are struggling. But what can we do?
Last month, Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona denied that there were complaints about food deliveries. Mabona said: “According to information at our disposal, we can confirm that learners from all the schools continued to receive their meals from Tuesday, 9 July 2024, when schools reopened. “We always ensure that surplus food supply is safely stored by the schools, to mediate possible roll-out delays in the new term.”But he recanted his earlier assertion.“The Gauteng department of education can confirm that it has received the court papers in relation to the case and it will present its case at court,” Mabona said this week.
Story credit: City Press
