Ekhuphumleni, one of the bidders for the last two casino licences in the Eastern Cape, has cried foul, saying the process was "suspect".
The winning bids, announced earlier this month, were given to Johannesburg-based Peermont Global for the Mthatha licence and to East London-based Lukhanji Leisure for the Queenstown licence.
Ekuphumleni is made up of Port Elizabeth based African Pioneer, African Parade Trading 110, Zonwabise Resort Holdings and the Komani Trust. The casino would have been managed by Sun international and Komani.
African Pioneer's Stephen Dondolo said the winning bids were suspect.
"If you look at the Mthatha bid for example, the licence was given to a Johannesburg company. This could have been an opportunity to give the bid to a provincially based company, with more than 80 per cent black economic empowerment."
Dondolo said his bid for the Mthatha licence would have yielded more jobs and the company's BEE credentials were impeccable.
Peermont's BEE credentials were boosted last week when they were acquired by the Mineworkers' Investment Company, creating one of the country's largest black-owned and black-controlled gaming companies.
Dondolo alleged that the Queenstown site was too small to build a casino and adjoining hotel and that the winning Mthatha site had a land claim on it.
He said he was appealing to the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board to reveal how it had reached its decision.
"We fulfilled all the requirements outlined to us, and in some cases far exceeded the minimum requirements," he said.
Each bidder was scored according to certain criteria, including empowerment credentials, economic factors, social, financial, management, development concept and environmental impact requirements.
The Herald attempted to access the scores of all the bidders from the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board in order to compare them, but board CEO Gonza Mati said this could not be done yet.
"In terms of section 44 of the Eastern Cape Gambling Act, the board has to furnish the MEC with a report containing reasons for its resolution.The MEC may within 30 days of the receipt of the written report, after inviting and considering representations from the board, request the premier to establish a review tribunal," Mati said.
He said this process had not yet been completed. The reports would be made to the MEC "very soon". All the bidders would be given the reports simultaneously.
Eastern Province Herald
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
