The DA wants Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba to assure Parliament and the South African public that two mega-contracts between the government and Chinese parastatals will not go ahead without the procurement laws being adhered to. According to media reports‚ the Department of Water and Sanitation as well as the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) are in the process of handing contracts worth R70bn to Chinese parastatals without a public tender or permission from Treasury to bypass tender laws. The DA’s deputy spokesman on finance‚ Alf Lees‚ said on Sunday that Gigaba had to urgently account for Treasury’s alleged planned deviation in the competitive tendering process, and give an assurance that due procedure will be followed before handing these contacts to Chinese companies without the proper tendering process. "The last thing SA can afford right now is another corrupt multibillion-rand intergovernmental tender deal‚" said Lees. Gigaba’s spokesman, Mayihlome Tshwete‚ however‚ denied...

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