Gauteng to appeal court ruling as R500m medical waste contracts set aside

The Gauteng health department says it has instructed its attorneys to appeal a judgment passed by the Johannesburg high court on Thursday which reviewed and set aside medical waste tenders it awarded to two service providers worth R500m. 

Buhle Medical Waste applied for an urgent application at the Johannesburg high court to interdict Tshenolo Waste and Phuting Medical Waste Management from starting their services pending the outcome of a review of the decision to award them the contracts.

Tshenolo Waste had been awarded a R314m contract to collect and dispose medical waste in Tshwane and Johannesburg while Phuting Waste received a R211m contract for the West Rand, Sedibeng and Ekurhuleni.

However, the court set aside the tenders on Thursday. 

The department said the case before court involved an application for an interdict on an urgent basis. It said Buhle Waste presented its case in two parts.  

Part A was for an urgent application to interdict the two companies from resuming the contracts and was heard on November 21. Part B, which is the review application, was not yet argued as the court was still hearing the urgent application. 

“The department is of the view the court made an error by ordering a review and setting aside of the tender as the issue of reviewing and setting aside the tender was not within the scope of the court proceedings at that time,” the department said.  

It said the review application was specifically to be addressed in part B of the application, which had not been heard yet. 

“Therefore, the court should not have ordered a review or the setting aside of the tender and contract without hearing part B.” 

The department said based on these grounds, the department’s considered position was the judge’s decision exceeded the appropriate scope of the judgment.  

“As a result the department has filed a notice for leave to appeal the judgment.” 

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