'Bribing' builders may get work

Pretoria - The suspension of building contractors guilty of fraud will be tested in court later this year.

Until this case is heard in August, the suspended contractor that applied to court remains eligible for government contracts.

In January the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) published the names of 21 building contractors whose registration had been suspended owing to bribery, fraud and corruption.

This body grades contractors according to their financial and technical ability. They can be considered for larger government contracts according to how well they perform.

The register is available on the CIDB website so that government clients can inspect contractors' gradings.

In January the CIDB said the offenses involved contractors' attempts to qualify for larger contracts.

One of the contractors, Group Ywo Trading Enterprises, was found guilty of paying as CIDB official R6 000 for fraudulent financial statements with a view to a higher grading.

The group was fined about R30 000, downgraded one level so that it qualified for lower value contracts and was suspended from the register for a year.

Group Ywo, however, decided to take its suspension to the court for review.

According to Uys du Plessis, the group's attorney, Group Ywo claimed that the law did not prescribe a fine and a suspension, but only one or the other.

CIDB spokesperson Kotli Molise says Group Ywo is one of two contractors taking aspects of the findings against them on review.

Meanwhile, the CIDB has published the names of another seven contractors culpable of similar offenses in the February 3 Government Gazette.

- Sake24.com

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