DA asks SIU to probe tenders for supply of library books

THE DA has lodged a complaint with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) regarding the recipients who had been awarded tenders to supply library books and other services to the provincial Department of Arts and Culture (DAC).

The call was made by the DA’S KZN Arts and Culture spokesperson, Bradley Singh, after discovering that some of the companies which had been awarded 36-month tender contracts were not booksellers.

According to Singh, a breakdown of those who received the contracts – available on the DAC website – showed that just two of the 17 firms were legitimate booksellers.

He said further investigation revealed that two of the companies listed as suppliers had registered the same business address and were operated by family members.

“These findings raise very serious questions around the operation of this department. The DA strongly believes that it is further evidence of a culture of endless and ongoing collusive fraud and corruption,” he said.

Singh added that reputable booksellers were being sidelined in favour of businesses and companies with no experience in book selling, and they received lucrative tenders.

“Even more alarming is that these companies have become successful without being accredited by publishers. The question is – how did this happen?”

Singh said given that the companies did not have direct access to purchase books from publishers, the chances were that the DAC would have paid inflated prices.

Mohamed Kharwa, chairperson of the South African Booksellers Association, said many booksellers, including their members, had objected to the awarding of the tenders, as the vast majority of known booksellers from the province and nationally had been excluded from the panel.

Kharwa said the association had noted with great concern that libraries had not been getting the latest and most relevant material in KZN.

“As has been noted in many other instances, when tenders do not include specialists from a sector, the effective costs to the public funds become inflated. We are concerned that our limited public funds are not being optimally used,” Kharwa said.

“The Booksellers Association has engaged and offers itself to all entities to ensure that procurement processes are fair, have measurable criteria, confirm the capabilities of suppliers, offer quality products, and to ensure competitive and efficient service delivery.”

The Department of Arts and Culture did not respond to questions.