The public works department’s decision to stop issuing tenders for six months could damage the building industry, which was still recovering from the recession, Master Builders SA (MBSA) said on Monday.
The department was the industry’s “key client” and the move would “undoubtedly negatively impact” the sector still struggling after the downturn in 2009, the body’s CEO Pierre Fourie said in a statement.
He was reacting to a report in the New Age newspaper that Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde had imposed a six-month moratorium on all new property deals in an attempt to clean-up her department.
“We have asked all business to stop at public works for six months. We need to clean our house and give South Africa a better service,” she was quoted as saying.
“The process is not going to be handled by public works. We have asked experts to help us.”
Fourie said the MBSA — which represents contractors and employers in the industry — was still studying the minister’s “surprising decision” to determine its impact.
“It is, however, a pity that the minister took such a drastic decision before taking time to consult the building sector.”
Mahlangu-Nkabinde announced the moratorium on Friday while addressing the Property Sector Charter seminar in Johannesburg.
She has been under pressure after Public Protector Thuli Madonsela ruled her department signed off on a R500-million lease for new police headquarters in central Pretoria, despite legal advice to the contrary. – Sapa