The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has confirmed that it will not meet the November 30 target deadline for the award of 241 routine road maintenance (RRM) tenders with an estimated combined value of R9.5-billion.

The deadline was set after court rulings that found Sanral’s previous RRM procurement processes to be unlawful.

Following a self-review by Sanral of awards made in relation to a tender to appoint a national panel of only 20 contractors, the court declared in July that the tender awards were unlawful and unconstitutional.

In addition, its appointment of a panel of engineering consultants was set aside earlier this year after being legally challenged by losing bidders.

Sanral subsequently reverted to its traditional procurement model premised on open, route-by-route tenders.

In the interim it also extended existing RRM contracts until November 30 to keep routine maintenance running while open route-by-route tenders were issued and adjudicated.

The State-owned entity is currently pursuing 132 RRM contractor and 109 consultant tenders on a staggered basis.

The first tenders for consultants were issued as from August 14, followed by the first contractors’ tenders as from September 11.

Acting CEO Lehlohonolo Memeza confirmed that the November 30 target date would not be met during a fractious briefing of the Portfolio Committee on Transport.

Sanral, she said, would also be approaching the courts for permission to extend some existing RRM contracts on a month-to-month basis.

Members of the portfolio used the briefing to raise various concerns over the performance of Sanral, while also acknowledging that Memeza herself was new to the role.

She was appointed to act in the position pending the appointment of a permanent CEO, after Reginald Demana stepped down as CEO at the end of August.

Lawmakers expressed concern over the quality of the information provided during the briefing, highlighting discrepancies between figures presented when compared with previous communication from Sanral, including replies to official parliamentary questions.

They also raised questions about the lack of detail in relation to consequence management at the State-owned entity and argued that there was insufficient clarity regarding the timeframe for completing an investigation into the appointment of the Moriel Infrastructure Group.

The company’s executive chairperson, Lawrence Mudzinganyama, was filmed recently making violent threats against a women at a Sandton restaurant.

This led Transport Minister Barbara Creecy to instruct Sanral to institute an investigation into the company’s appointment and performance.

Moriel released a statement indicating that it had terminated its association with Mudzinganyama, who was also arrested on a warning and is scheduled to appear in court in October to face intimidation charges.

Some lawmakers also wanted clarity as to the nationality of a senior Sanral executive, amid false social media reports suggesting that the majority of Sanral’s employees were foreign nationals.

Sanral was given 14 days to respond in writing to the questions posed by the committee members.