By Edward West
The PG Mavundla Engineering construction consortium has withdrawn an urgent application for an interdict against the awarding of the tender for construction of a stadium for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. This has removed an immediate legal threat to construction deadlines.
But in an interview at the Durban High Court on Monday, PG Mavundla's attorney, Richard Hoal, said that a judicial review of the tender would be heard in the court on April 2.
PG Mavundla Engineering and its partner, Italy-based construction group Co-operativa Muratori Cementiti Di Ravenna, requested the court to review the eThekwini municipality's award of the contract to build the R2bn stadium to a consortium of the Group Five, WBHO and Pandev construction companies.
The Mavundla consortium claims its price was the lowest and its empowerment status was better than those of the three competing bidders that prequalified for the tender.
Two organisations representing black business were at court on Monday to support the Mavundla consortium. Nafcoc KwaZulu-Natal provincial organiser Vusi Ngidi said none of its members had obtained work from the contract, and it was "high time" for the legal requirement for contractors to grant 10% of the contract value to previously disadvantaged businessmen to be increased to 50%-100%.
Indigenous Black Business Forum chairman Muzi Khumalo said the forum, with more than 100 affiliated black-owned construction firms and subcontractors in KwaZulu-Natal, complained that Group Five's winning of the tender had thwarted any chance of local, small black-owned companies getting work on the stadium.
The eThekwini municipality argued in its affidavit that it had to choose experienced contractors to build the stadium because of the short time frame before the 2010 soccer event.
It also said the withdrawal of JT Ross & Son, one of the largest construction groups in the province, from the Mavundla consortium would have led to inadequate plant, construction methods and inexperienced staff doing the job. The municipality said these were among the reasons why Mavundla had not won the contract.
Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge
