However, the Limpopo department of human settlements said that it had been advised, rather than ordered, to re-advertise the contracts for the construction of RDP houses, said spokesperson Dieketseng Diale on Wednesday.
The Star reported on Wednesday that the contracts were awarded in December to expelled ANC Youth League president Malema's allies, which includes businessperson Selby Manthata, his wife Helen Moroeroa, Matome Hlabiosa, Collins Foromo and Mohammed Dada.
According to the report, a national intervention team, appointed by President Jacob Zuma, ordered the department to re-advertise the housing tenders.
Diale claimed that the report was based on "incorrect and false allegations". The department believed the tender process had been "clouded by misreporting and malice, rather than by maladministration".
Diale said law enforcement agencies had been invited to investigate allegations of impropriety relating to the tenders, as the department was confident that these claims were unfounded.
'No manipulation whatsoever'
"The department still stands by what it said: that the process was fair, transparent and free. There was no manipulation whatsoever," Diale said.
"We have always maintained our innocence … and that our department adheres to the highest ethical and administrative standards in all its dealings, including procurement of services."
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomed the re-advertising of the tenders. DA Limpopo local government spokesperson Desiree van der Walt said in a statement that the party wanted an overhaul of the adjudication process in the province to prevent corruption or "political meddling".
She called for the arrest of the department officials who initially awarded the tenders. – Sapa