The State's position is contained in heads of argument filed before Justice Tapiwa Kganyago, who is expected to determine whether senior government officials deliberately disobeyed previous court orders arising from the long-running procurement dispute. The applicants are G4 Civils (Pty) Ltd, Landmark Projects (Pty) Ltd and Asphalt Botswana (Pty) Ltd, trading as Tawana Joint Venture (JV). The respondents are the Accounting Officers in the Ministry of Water and Human Settlement, Boikhutso Botlhole, Nchidzi Mmolawa and the Attorney General. Tawana JV has approached the High Court seeking an order declaring the respondents to be in contempt of court, arguing that government failed to implement previous judgments which cleared the way for the consortium to be awarded the contract after the Public Procurement Tribunal's decision was set aside.'However, the respondents insist there was no refusal to obey the courts. In their heads of argument, they submit that the ministry complied with the orders by issuing a Letter of Acceptance to Tawana JV on April 28, 2026. According to the respondents, the previous judgments required the ministry to proceed in accordance with Regulation 68(2) of the Public Procurement Regulations, a requirement they argue was fulfilled through the placement of the contract.
"The respondents complied with the order of court by placing the contract," the State argues. Government submits that contempt of court is reserved for cases where there is deliberate and bad-faith disobedience of a court order. It argues that Tawana JV has failed to establish either element. Instead, the respondents say the ministry continued to deal with legitimate issues that arose after the contract had been placed. Among those issues, Government says, was the need to engage the Ministry of Finance regarding funding arrangements for the multi-billion pula project. The respondents further state that the Ministry also had to consider matters arising from allegations of corruption that had been referred to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) by the Public Procurement Tribunal.
