Jabulani Hospital construction will go ahead

09 September 2008

The Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works is adamant that the proposed Jabulani Hospital which is intended to serve northern and western communities of Soweto will be delivered by 2010. Dobsonville, Meadowlands, Emndeni, Zola, Mofolo, Zondi, Naledi, Moletsane, Tladi, Bram fischerville, Protea and Jabulani are some of the communities set to benefit from the construction of Jabulani Hospital.

Invitation to tender for the construction of Jabulani hospital was advertised in various media on 10 March 2006. Three tenderers were shortlisted and duly evaluated and adjudicated by the Department's Acquisition Committee (DAC). The DAC is a structure responsible for supply chain management in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Treasury Regulations. The Head of Department (HOD), who is not a member of the DAC, authorized relevant members of the senior management to constitute the DAC and take independent decisions on all procurement issues on behalf of the department.

On 10 May 2006 the tender was finally awarded to Ilima joint venture. The DAC considered Ilima's submission the best as it had complied with all tender requirements including being cleared by South African Revenue Services (SARS) and satisfactorily rated by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). To the department's disappointment, the Ilima joint venture was soon bedeviled by internal wrangling, consequentially some partners withdrew, and that impacted negatively on the Project delivery.

The department instituted an investigation into the root cause of the infighting in order to ascertain the role of each member company in the non delivery of the project. The preliminary report of the Department's investigation suggested that Ilima joint venture may not necessarily be in good standing with the SARS, consequentially a firm of attorneys was instructed to verify the information. Notwithstanding the findings of the investigation, the Department is still obligated to ensure delivery of the project by 2010.

Official statement of the department in response to the media reports about the Jabulani Hospital: