Latest news with #DailyDoubleTrading479CC
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Cyril Xaba urges stronger contract management in eThekwini Municipality
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba warned municipal officials that the failure to monitor contracts showed a weakness in governance. Image: Independent Media Archives eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba warned municipal officials that the failure to monitor contracts showed a weakness in governance, and he suspected there was collusive corruption in the city. The municipality came under public scrutiny following three court cases that cost it millions, involving Daily Double Trading 479 CC, Solbeth Security and Risk Management Services, and Bless Joe Trading CC. Speaking at an Executive Committee (Exco) meeting on Tuesday, Xaba said the Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP) needed to be thoroughly interrogated by all political parties, and whether the money allocated in budgets would meet the performance indicators and targets. He warned of a mismatched budget where performance indicators were low while the budget was high. Xaba stated that the budget is meant to provide goods and services to the people, and it was important to monitor the process and improve oversight. He went on to urge municipal officials to do things differently. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Councillor Zandile Myeni, the deputy mayor of eThekwini Municipality, stated that the heads of departments should be held accountable. Andre Beetge, DA Exco member, said it should not be a case where, within three months into the budget cycle, there would be calls to reprioritise the budget, which often left projects incomplete. Xaba said the city's losing cases in court pointed to a weakness in managing contracts. 'I do not know who benefits from such, but I suspect collusive corruption in the process. We have to put a stop to this. We must be able to monitor contracts.' The recent court orders issued against the city have prompted the municipality to strengthen contract management controls. To ensure contracts are properly planned, executed, and monitored, the municipality stated that they have implemented the following measures: Early Contract Initiation: Departments are directed, in terms of Supply Chain Management circulars, to initiate procurement processes at least nine months before the expiry of existing contracts. This allows for proper planning, competitive bidding, and uninterrupted service delivery. Automation and Red Flag Reporting: Contract monitoring is being automated in line with the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts requirements. This includes the implementation of exception-based red flag reports to detect delays, non-performance, and irregularities in real-time. Capacitation on Contract Compliance: Targeted efforts are under way to train and capacitate departments and legal services to ensure a thorough understanding and enforcement of the terms and conditions of contracts.
IOL News
12-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
eThekwini city manager defends decisions amid court rulings and financial scrutiny
eThekwini Head and City Manager Musa Mbhele and Malusi Mhlongo, the eThekwini Legal and Compliance Services head. Image: Doctor Ngcobo / Independent Newspapers eThekwini Municipality City Manager Musa Mbhele said he has saved the municipality millions of rand by not signing off on documents while wearing a blindfold. Mbhele has come under public scrutiny following three court cases that cost the municipality millions, involving Daily Double Trading 479 CC, Solbeth Security and Risk Management Services, and Bless Joe Trading CC. The Constitutional Court dismissed the municipality's attempt to overturn a prior ruling, which held it liable for R30 million that is owed to a service provider, Daily Double Trading 479 CC, stemming from 2013. Daily Double Trading challenged the municipality's decision to cancel its contracts, and an out-of-court settlement agreement was reached between the parties. However, the city argued that the lawyer who was involved in the agreement had not been authorised to make such a deal. The city challenged the settlement agreement in court, but the courts have ruled against it, and the municipality's latest bid to appeal was dismissed this week by the Constitutional Court, which found it had no reasonable prospects of success. In another case, businessman Siyabonga Xulu is demanding payment of over R413 million due to his company, Solbeth Security and Risk Management Services. Xulu alleged that the municipality refused to pay for the critical security services his company provided to senior officials, including former city manager Sipho Nzuza, dating back to 2019. Lastly, the municipality hired tents and ablution facilities from Bless Joe Trading CC in April 2019 to provide temporary emergency accommodation for flood victims in Tehuis, Umlazi. In court papers, Bless Joe Trading CC provided a marquee, flooring, eight public toilets, and 50 chairs at R190,000 per day for 14 days. In March 2020, the municipality cancelled the contract, stating that they would provide alternative shelter for the flood victims, but Bless Joe Trading CC argued that the marques were not evacuated. In court papers, the company owner alleged that when he went to pick up his marquee and toilets, he was told by the occupants that they would not move because they had not found alternative accommodation. He, therefore, billed the city even though the contract expired, claiming R73 million. Malusi Mhlongo, the Legal and Compliance Services head, and Mbhele addressed key issues affecting the city administration and recent legal matters. Mhlongo said there has been criticism about the conduct of the legal strategy of cases, most of the time directed at the city manager. 'Any decision that the city manager takes, he takes it on my concurrence on the basis of my advice. He relies on me for legal matters,' Mhlongo explained. He said they respected the court's decision and that payment of legal costs to legal practices does not constitute wasteful expenditure because they paid for the service they received. He said that when the City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU) recommended that two contracts be terminated because they found misconduct at Daily Double Trading 479CC, the company then sued the city for R44 million. 'We are paying R30 million and interest to a service provider for no services received, and that is what the city manager is trying to resist. We are paying because it was authorised by a person who was not properly authorised to give that instruction. Nobody had the authority to reach a settlement that was over R5 million without going to council. This was handled by former city manager Sipho Nzuza. The judge ruled on the matter,' Mhlongo said. He said the matter with Bless Joe Trading CC went through the court process, and they were now abiding by the court ruling to pay based on a market-related amount for a year. 'If the market-related value is between R5,000 and R20,000 per day, it will be a saving. If we are unable to agree on what constitutes a market-related amount, we can argue the amount in court,' he said. Mhlongo said the Solbeth matter had a long history preceding Mbhele's tenure in office. 'The service provider indicated that he would not be able to share what he was doing because it was top secret and involved intelligence work. Our hands are tied because we cannot pay for something we do not know about. We are waiting for a court date over the matter,' Mhlongo said. Mbhele said the municipality had won many complex legal battles under Mhlongo's supervision that were not published in the media. "We protected and defended the ratepayers, right up to the Constitutional Court. The city is in a far better position than it would have been if we just signed an agreement blindfolded," he said. [email protected]
