A service provider who allegedly blew the whistle on a police couple over a tender — which resulted in them being dismissed — is now launching a civil claim for money lost.
Contractor MRL Enterprise says Col Ivan Pillay, a provincial section head of acquisition management and wife Capt Soni Pillay, a procurement officer based in Chatsworth, allegedly manipulated procurement processes and redirected a Chatsworth police station fencing tender to their preferred company.
After an internal disciplinary hearing in May the two officers were found guilty of corruption and defeating the ends of justice and were dismissed from the service.
This was over a 2022 contract for the supply and installation of barbed wire fencing at Chatsworth police station, southwest Durban, which was ultimately awarded to a different contractor, Clearvu Superfencing, at a cost of R332,568.
The couple, who both refused to comment saying the matter was “sub judice”, later instructed lawyers to send a “cease and desist” letter to TimesLIVE Premium threatening legal action for “defaming” the couple.
MRL Enterprise submitted a quote for R249,000 for the same job but alleged it was not considered and the contract was awarded irregularly.
In an affidavit seen by TimesLIVE Premium, MRL Enterprise included emails showing they participated in two site meetings in March and May 2022, to gather project details. However, problems began when a June meeting was cancelled on Capt Pillay's orders, — who had authority to approve procurement below R300,000 — a day before it was set to take place.
The company was then informed by an officer investigating the tender in June their quotation was not on the file and advised to inquire with the station, which they did in July.
In August, the support head from the station — who resigned in January 2025 ahead of a disciplinary hearing — informed the company the project file was closed due to specification errors and funding problems.
The company was further told once funding was secured at provincial level, the contract was awarded to a specialist supplier who had been approved by the provincial SCM unit. They were also told quoting for a job does not necessarily guarantee awarding of a contract as procurement made the final decision.
Dissatisfied with this explanation, the company asked if the tender had been re-advertised and requested a cancellation letter for the original project.
“I later discovered the contract was awarded to a supplier whose quotation was much higher, who was not a specialist nor manufacturer of barbed/razor wire and that the job was completed in August 2022,” a company representative said.
The company said the complaint about the missing quote should have been investigated immediately but senior officers failed to act and allowed another supplier to win the contract. It alleged the tender process amounted to corruption, with irregularities and favouritism towards a preferred supplier with a higher quote.
Documents seen by TimesLIVE Premium reveal a SAPS internal probe found Capt Pillay guilty of breaching procurement rules and ethics by favouring Clearvu Superfencing. The investigation found she withheld MRL Enterprise's quote, falsely claimed they hadn't bid, and misused her authority to influence the outcome.
Meanwhile, Col Pillay was accused of abusing his position as provincial head of procurement to cover up for his wife by pressuring junior officers to provide false statements about MRL Enterprise’s quote and prepared a false statement for them to sign.
It was also found the two implicated officers may have had a personal link to Clearvu Superfencing as they live in the same street as the company’s listed address.
Both officers were found guilty at the end of April and were dismissed on May 19.
MRL Enterprise has taken further legal action against SAPS, instituting civil proceedings to claim damages for losses resulting from the irregular contract award. In October 2023, the company demanded R419,000 in compensation from the police minister for costs incurred, including materials and lost income.
The company said it spent about R80,000 on materials and suffered a loss of about R90,000 in income due to six weeks of unproductive time allocated for the contract.
When SAPS failed to meet those demands, the company issued a summons to the minister in January this year seeking the same amount plus interest.
MRL Enterprise told TimesLIVE Premium the matter was ongoing and they were expecting an update from their attorneys this week.
“At this point we’re just looking for the money that we quoted them because we were about to be awarded that job, so we decided to just try to get whatever that we quoted them for.”
A TimesLIVE Premium source applauded the “bravery” of the MRL Enterprise leadership for following through on this case, saying the police service had been plagued by procurement fraud for years, but other contractors were too scared to complain and see it through.
“Thanks to him because this had been going on for years where qualifying contractors are unfairly excluded from tenders through this procurement fraud. Most contractors usually get cold feet and do not see the matter through, so it was brave of him to commit all the way to see justice. I really hope this breaks the cycle and gives everyone else courage to report these.”
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