The court also declared the service level agreement, which was concluded between the city and the companies, null and void.
“The respondents are ordered to repay the applicant the profit they made,” the court ruled.
Sodi was also ordered to provide the city with a detailed breakdown of expenses within 60 days of the order.
The court gave the city 60 days to verify the information that it will be receiving from Sodi. After this, the court will determine the amount he would need to pay.
“In the event that the respondents fail to provide the City of Tshwane with a detailed breakdown of their reasonable expenses with supporting vouchers, then the city of Tshwane shall appoint an expert with not less than 10 years experience to determine the reasonable expenses and the profit earned by the respondents, which profit once so determined shall be paid back to the City of Tshwane by the respondents,” the judge said.
Sodi was also ordered to pay the costs of the application.
DA Tshwane caucus leader Cilliers Brink welcomed the court’s decision, saying the Sodi consortium “lacked the expertise required by industry standards for a project of this nature”.
“Though it is important for the city to follow due process, the judgment obtained against the Sodi consortium strengthens the city’s blacklisting application,” he said.
“The DA calls on Tshwane to make public the progress in completing the blacklisting process.”
Sowetan previously reported that a forensic report also declared the awarding of the tender irregular.
According to the report, CMS, NJR and Blackhead JV should not have been allowed to bid as they did not have the required grading from the Construction Industry Development Board.
The grading is an indicator of how contractors handle their finances and assigned projects.
The investigator also picked up that the evaluators allocated points to the winning companies “suspiciously”.
Five senior Tshwane city managers were suspended after investigations revealed that they had all scored Sodi’s consortium 80 points for the tender, despite the company not fitting the grade, placing it above other bidders.
The five officials are Thembeka Mphefu, the divisional head of supply chain management; Frans Manganye, the divisional head of electricity planning and development; Stephens Notoane, the group head of utility services; Justice Sekokotla, the director of the electricity department; and Dumisani Gubuza, the divisional head of water and sanitation. The city instituted disciplinary hearings against them in 2022.
But the Special Investigating Unit, which is also probing the matter, said 12 officials, including the five, should also face a disciplinary hearing.
Sodi did not respond to Sowetan’s request for comment.
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