Gordhan warned Tshwane against smart meter contract: DA
The Tshwane metro's electricity smart meter fiasco is refusing to die down‚ with new information revealed showing the metro was warned against the contract by former finance minister Pravin Gordhan. Gordhan had warned Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa about the illegality of the contract and the contract's lack of value for money in a letter to the mayor dated September 2013.Gordhan had explicitly warned in the letter‚ which the Democratic Alliance (DA) said was leaked by a whistle-blower close to the process‚ that the contract “was entered into without complying with applicable legislation”‚ and that the service provider‚ PEU‚ “should have been disqualified from providing the service as prescribed....”The minister had also raised concerns that the “contract does not offer value for money for the (City of Tshwane)”.Gordhan states in the letter that in National Treasury's assessment the price of 19.5c for every rand of electricity purchased is “exorbitant”.Ramokgopa announced the termination of the contract with PEU in May after paying more than R800-million for 129‚000 electricity smart prepaid meters‚ and the DA claimed in documents that the contract exit would cost R1.2-billion in penalty fees.“The mayor and the municipal manager (Jason Ngobeni) ignored the opinions‚ advice and express written instructions of the then minister of finance and head of Treasury to not proceed with the contract‚” DA's finance spokesperson in Tshwane‚ Lex Middelberg‚ said on Thursday.He said the duo had also failed to disclose this information to the council.The party claimed the metro did not terminate the contract but negotiated an exit package after realising that the contract could not survive its financial crisis.Middelberg claimed the amount the company would pocket meant each of the installed meters had cost R163‚000.He said‚ to make matters worse‚ the meters were not compliant with the South African Bureau of Standards' requirements because they were not fitted with the client-interface unit that would enable the user to monitor consumption...
There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.
From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.
For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.
Already subscribed? Sign in below.
Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.