Sanral denies keeping tolling tender secrets
Sanral says its application to the Western Cape High Court has nothing to do with enacting the so-called “secrecy bill”, but rather to protect the confidentiality of in-process tenders.
An application by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to keep secret certain tolling documentation was set to be heard in a closed session at the high court in Cape Town on Monday (4 August).
The application – to ensure that supplementary papers on the proposed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway Project not be put on public record – is the latest development in an ongoing legal battle between the parastatal and the City of Cape Town.
“We have no desire to withhold information that would make it possible for us to account for stewardship of the resources under our control,” said the agency’s spokesperson Vusi Mona.
“In fact, we are required by Parliament to account for the manner we use public resources and have always done so without fail.”
“Where plans have not yet been implemented or tenders not yet awarded, it is important that we respect the integrity of the tender process.”
“We do so because the benefits attaching to such plans or tenders have not yet been secured and a competitive tender process may be at risk of being usurped by others if disclosed prematurely,” said Mona.
Sanral noted that it has in the past protected commercially sensitive information in tender review challenges even though case law states that after an award of tender information must be released.
“Sanral understands that as a practical matter and in an open democracy, information relating to a tender process, especially when involving a state-owned entity, cannot be protected indefinitely.”
“However, before the process has been finalised, we believe there is a case for confidentiality,” Mona said.
Ongoing battle
In May last year, the City of Cape Town municipality was granted an interim interdict to halt the tolling project.
The interdict remains in force until the finalisation of the City’s application to have Sanral’s declaration of the project and the selection of the preferred bidder, Protea Parkways Consortium (PPC), be reviewed and set aside.
Sanral and PPC requested the matter be heard in a closed court and to have related court documents kept out of the public domain.
Sanral said that the City of Cape Town has failed to explain to the public that Sanral has not awarded the tender to any of the bidders and is only at the preferred bidder stage of the process.
“More importantly, the Minister of Transport has not even declared the toll tariff. Accusations that Sanral is refusing to disclose the tariffs are therefore at best, misguided and at worst, simply not true,” Mona said.
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