Report puts R4.5 billion SAA tenders in question
State owned airline SAA has reportedly paid R4.5 billion to overseas contractors littered with procurement irregularities.
According to City Press, two forensic reports show how fleet maintenance company, SAA Technical (SAAT) extended contracts several times without going to tender.
Both reports were submitted in May and will be processed by the new SAA board, the paper said.
It comes after SAA received a R2.3 billion bailout to settle a Standard Chartered Bank loan only weeks ago.
The reports which were drawn up by Open Water Advanced Risk Solutions, found that SAA and its technical division extended a tyre contract with BAE many times, over 15 years, without a public tender.
Among other irregularities, BAE won a contract for the supply of Boeing and Aircraft tyres in 2014, yet no contract was signed, with the companies operating through a memorandum of understanding, City Press said.
A second report showed that a five-year components and logistics contract awarded to Air France in 2013, was extended without a tender process, netting the company R2.5 billion by 2016.
SAAT then advertised for a new R1.3 billion, five-year tender, with the Bid Adjudication Committee recommending that it be awarded to Air France for the Airbus components and Israel Aerospace Industries for the Boeing fleet.
City Press reported that the committee’s recommendation “did not include any amounts and was presented in a manner that deems Air France to be the service provider providing the lowest cost to SAAT, notwithstanding the fact that they were approximately R200m more expensive than Lufthansa”.
Open Water investigators also reported that a Black Economic Empowerment company was awarded a contract in 2015 despite not having expertise nor experience in the aviation sector.
“The company’s premises were also found to be a residential area in Sandton, City Press said.
Air France did not respond to requests for comment.
SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said: “The board would like to assure the public that it does not condone, nor will it cover up, allegations of criminality at SAA.
“However, any action the board must take against anyone accused of impropriety must be factual and be legally sustainable.”
Investigations, he said, were previously commissioned by SAA to look into financial losses incurred by the company.
“The board has looked into those reports and determined that, as things stand, they are incomplete.”
The full report can be found in the latest Sunday edition of the the City Press.
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