The Independent Development Trust welcomes the decision by the Special Tribunal on 29 July 2024, setting aside the appointment of various service providers related to the security fence contracts which the IDT was mandated to perform for the Department of Correctional Services (as it was then known) at beginning of 2012.

The judgement recorded and confirmed the steps that were taken by the IDT against the relevant contractors, which commenced with the cancellation of the contract of the main contractor and other service providers on the project during mid-2018.  Following its own internal investigations, during October 2018 the IDT instituted a review application in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) to set aside the awarding of the tender to the main contractor. The IDT had approached National Treasury during 2018, requesting that the matter be forensically investigated.  Pursuant to such forensic investigation, a report (the Nexus report) was drawn, on the strength of which the IDT supplemented its founding papers in the review application during December 2019.

At about the same time, the Special Investigation Unit (“SIU”) brought its own review application in front of the Special Tribunal, which included and encompassed the relief which was being sought by the IDT in its review application.  Accordingly, the IDT agreed to a stay of its own review application in the Pretoria High Court, in favour of the SIU’s application proceeding before the Special Tribunal.

Whilst cited as a respondent in the SIU’s application, the IDT did not oppose the application, instead it gave notice to abide by the decision of the Pretoria High Court.  The IDT raised only one aspect in its papers where it believed that the SIU was wrong in its interpretation of the law (relating to the competency of organs of state to perform work for other state organs), which legal contention succeeded and was upheld by the Special Tribunal in its judgement. 

The judgment and order of the Special Tribunal provides not only that the respective tender awards and the contracts that were concluded pursuant to such awards were set aside, it further provides that the service providers who were cited as respondents in the SIU’s application were ordered to render full accounts of all the payments that they received under the impugned contracts, and to pay back whatever profits they had earned from the said contracts.  In terms of the judgement, these profits are to be recovered from the service providers who were cited as respondents, and the funds thus received will be returned to the IDT.  There was no cost order made against the IDT in the judgement.

The IDT is accordingly pleased with the judgement handed down by the Special Tribunal, and it wishes to express its gratitude and appreciation to the SIU, whose unrelenting efforts and assistance have culminated in the end result that the IDT has been pursuing on its own over the last seven years.

For any enquiries, please contact

Mr Phasha Makgolane (072 231 1564, phasham@idt.org.za)

Acting Head of Communications