Ipotseng disclaims P200,000 claim

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Thursday November 1, 2007 00:00

When he awarded the tender in 2005, Tlharese was deputy council chairman. The matter has now gone to court as Tlharese is suing the Gantsi District Council and the two individuals whom he awarded the tender. The contract was for drawing the designs of internal sewer construction works in the Gantsi Township.

But in his answering affidavit, the deputy Gantsi Council Secretary, Poloko Mojalemotho said all the normal procedural formalities were flouted by Tlharese in negotiating a tender with Direct Grading or with two individuals.  

Direct Grading is a company owned by Tlharese. He said it was because of these circumstances that the DCEC intervened and took over the investigations relating to the award of the tender.

Apparently, the Ministry of Local Government had ordered the Gantsi District Council to pay the two contractors close to P200, 000.

Mojalemotho said when the council failed to settle the payments, Tlharese approached the Ministry of Local Government and on June 4, the deputy Permanent Secretary T.Y.

Raphaka issued a letter directing that they should pay. The council official said following the directive, a cheque was written to the lawyers of the contractors but the DCEC intervened. 

Following a meeting with the DCEC, the deputy permanent secretary wrote another letter to withdraw his directive that the contractors should be paid. The council cancelled the cheque that was made out.

In his affidavit, Tlharese said in 2005, the government carried out the reticulation of a township in Gantsi. The civil works project includes building of sewerage and sanitation facilities. 

However, he said the government notified the council that its institutions would not be part of the project and that the council would have to arrange to build its own sewerage facilities and connect them to the government reticulation system.

Tlharese said the government project was run with meetings held by the 'Group of Five'. 

He said he represented the council as its deputy chairman in the Group of Five. He indicated that the Group of Five also had a civil engineer, the council's engineer, a representative from an organisation with the acronym Hebco and two individuals that he later engaged.

Tlharese said at the Group of Five meetings, the site engineer asked the council engineer to draw designs of the internal sewer reticulation of council institutions. 

He claimed the late council engineer asked him to arrange for this to be done by another organisation on behalf of the council.

He said he approached the two individuals to draw the designs which he submitted to the council. However, he said, they were not paid by the council on time due to 'administrative problems'.

Tlharese said when he asked the then Council Secretary, Ringo Ipotseng to expedite payment, he assured him that this would be done. Ipotseng had denied these allegations, saying that he never made any assurance that the council would pay.

Tlharese said despite many promises to pay the debt, the council delayed. He said his two vehicles were attached by the contractors for failing to pay them following a court ruling.

But in his affidavit, the former council secretary, Ipotseng denied that Katelgo Investments or Direct Grading was ever engaged by the council to prepare any designs for it. 

'I say so because as the chief executive officer of the Gantsi District Council, I was the custodian of properties and in particular all minutes of the tender committees, all the minutes of the council meetings and all the committees of the council. All cheques were co-signed by me,' he said.

Ipotseng denied Tlharese's claims that there were administrative problems that stopped the council from paying. In fact, he said, the council made it very clear that it would not pay as Tlharese was never authorised or instructed to engage the services of the contractors.

He said the factual reality is that by the reason of his position as deputy council chairman, Tlharese came to know of the project and the amount which was budgeted for it. 

He stated that the former deputy chairman then went on without authorisation from anyone, proceeding to negotiate a deal with the two contractors.

'I have worked for various town and district councils and for the 31 years as an employee of the Ministry of Local Government, I have never seen or heard of a councillor negotiating tenders on behalf of council. Those functions are performed by the tender committee as appropriate or where quotations are to be made the same is done by the administrative staff of the council,' he stated.

Ipotseng said he has never made any assurances to pay Tlharese's liabilities. He denied that Tlharese was authorised by the council to enter into any transactions or undertaking to pay on behalf of the council.

The retired council secretary said it was strange that work in excess of P150, 000 could be discussed verbally by a deputy council chairman.

Tlharese's case against the council and the two contractors is expected to be heard by the High Court next week.