CoF, contractor in legal brawl

Francistown civic center
Francistown civic center

FRANCISTOWN: The City of Francistown (CoF) is embroiled in a tender row with a contractor for the supply, maintenance and installation of street lighting infrastructure at Gerald Estates.

The contractor, Lejala Electrical (Pty) Ltd has cited CoF, the chairperson of CoF tender Appeals Board and Powacom Pty Ltd respectively as respondents

 in the matter. Motivating reasons why the matter was urgent, Lejala’s attorney, Diba Diba submitted that the application was premised on the tender that the applicant had tendered for and scored high marks as compared to other bidders. “The respondents notified Lejala that it was the best adjudicated bidder, and will enter into a contract with the applicant. Subsequent to that, there was an appeal by the third respondent against the adjudication of the tender. Following that appeal, the first respondent issued another notice saying that the third respondent was the best bidder.  “The applicant made a complaint that it was not afforded a hearing when the decision to award the tender to the third respondent was taken. The applicant had a legitimate expectation that since it was the best adjudicated bidder it will enter into a contract with the first respondent,” Diba said. The decision to award the tender to the third respondent, Diba said, shows that COF wanted to enter into a contract with Powacom within eight working days hence, Lejala brought the matter before court on an urgent basis.

Editor's Comment
Gov’t must rectify recognition of Khama as Kgosi

While it is widely acknowledged that Khama holds the title of Kgosi, the government’s failure to properly gazette his recognition has raised serious concerns about adherence to legal procedures and the credibility of traditional leadership. (See a story elsewhere in this newspaper.) Recent court documents by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse, shed light on the intricacies of Khama’s recognition process....

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