DA submits objection to Virginia Airport development process
The primary objection is that the incorrect procedure for accepting an unsolicited bid was undertaken and that a bid process should have been followed.
THE Democratic Alliance has submitted a substantial and comprehensive objection to the proposed development of the Virginia Airport by Seaworld Investments.
According to North Durban councillor, Shaun Riley, the primary objection by the DA is that the incorrect procedure for accepting an unsolicited bid by the City Manager, Sibusiso Sithole, was undertaken and that an open, competitive bid process should have been followed.
“It is our contention that this flawed procedure is invalid and or irregular. The DA believes that from the outset, this project has been fraught with mixed messages, promises of leases and even a council resolution to this effect which was subsequently rescinded shortly after the Deputy Mayor, Nomvuzo Shabalala personally congratulated operators on their lease extensions,” said Riley.
eThekwini Municipality proposes that R400 million of public money be spent to upgrade surrounding infrastructure to support this project. According to Riley, this is in contravention of the Supply Chain Management Policy (SCM) which states that any unsolicited bid must be the sole provider of the product or service, which means that no money by the municipality should be spent on the project.
“Further to this in Annexure ‘D’ of our submission, the City Manager stated in a report to the Executive Committee, ‘this proposal takes into account that the city has no specific budget allocated towards the development of the Virginia site’. The DA contends that the municipality should embark on a competitive bid process which may very well open an opportunity for a developer to develop the site bearing such costs. This would allow eThekwini to fund the much needed service delivery backlogs which exist in the city, the worst being the housing waiting list of 450 000 units,” he said.
Riley said the Democratic Alliance believed this was an important case for the public in the interests of transparency, accountability and due process.
“Nothing less will only leave this development open to challenges by interested parties going forward,” he said.
