Mobile vet clinics worth R26m still undelivered after 11 years
A R31 million contract awarded in 2015 for mobile veterinary clinics has resulted in zero deliveries after 11 years. Investigations reveal significant irregularities in the bidding process involving a senior official who later became the department's director-general.
Why it matters
The case serves as a significant example of government procurement failure and potential corruption within public service infrastructure projects.
In July 2015, Centurion Bus Manufacturers (CBM) scored a R31 million contract to buy and convert seven buses into mobile veterinary clinics for the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, now the Department of Agriculture.
Eleven years later, CBM has delivered not one of the seven buses.
Approached for comment, lawyers acting for the company told amaBhungane, “Kindly take note that there is pending litigation between CBM and [the Department of Agriculture]... The issues raised in your correspondence form part of the subject matter of the litigation and are therefore sub judice.”
Investigations by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) and by amaBhungane show the bid award process was suspicious, and the execution of the contract, signed on 10 July 2015, was riddled with delays and irregularities.
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