Rand Water Gauteng

The DA is saying Rand Water should come clean about the restrictions it is implementing in Gauteng.
Image: Pexels.

Rand Water addresses controversial DBE water tanks tender

Rand Water was awarded a R600 million tender by the Department of Basic Education.

Rand Water Gauteng

The DA is saying Rand Water should come clean about the restrictions it is implementing in Gauteng.
Image: Pexels.

The company was roped in by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to supply water to schools in preparation for their reopening, which took place earlier in the month.

Since then, thousands of tanks have been delivered in communities with a shortage of running water. Of these, over 1 000 have already been directed to schools, as sanitation becomes an urgent issue amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Rand Water address controversial DBE tender

The project has, however, been a subject of controversy, with the department accused of not following due tender process.

On Friday, Rand Water moved to address the issue by releasing a statement addressing what it terms “misinformation”.

“It is important to note that the service providers that were contracted as part of this intervention are accredited vendors on the National Treasury’s Central Supplier Database (CDS),” Rand Water said.

“All the costs for the successful implementation of the intervention fall well within the market price range for the equipment and installation costs utilised for the intervention.”

Rand Water

How much has the provision of water tanks cost?

According to the company, the tanks set government back between R4 500 and R10 800 per unit.

The company added; 

“The Implementation Protocol has contractual value of R600 million payable to DBE and Rand Water. To date, the DBE has transferred an amount of R200 million to Rand Water. The Implementation Protocol is for Rand Water to supply and install water tanks and to provide water-cutting services to the respective schools during the declared national disaster period. 

Rand Water

Rand Water said the second phase of the intervention will see to the construction of sustainable water sources for the schools through borehole drilling and pumping.

Speaking earlier in the month, education minister Angie Motshekga admitted that due process had slightly deviated from due process in the awarding of the tender to the company.

“The tender was awarded to Rand Water due to their proven track record of delivering huge projects within a short space and also because they are an entity of government through the Department of Water and Sanitation,” she said.

Angie Motshekga