Question NW3053 to the Minister of Arts and Culture
02 November 2018 - NW3053
Madisha, Mr WM to ask the Minister of Arts and Culture
(1). What progress has been made in the project to turn the late Mrs Winnie Mandela’s home in Brandfort into a museum; (2). what (a) amount has been spent on the project to date and (b) are the projected costs; (3). whether any steps have been taken to retrieve the funds lost and wasted on the project; if not, why not; if so, what steps
Reply:
1. My department appointed an Implementing Agent (IA) to turn the late Ms Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s Brandfort house into a museum. On 13 March 2018, the IA entered into a Service Level Agreement with my department for a total amount of R1 926 705.81.
After finalizing a detailed Project Implementation Plan (PIP) and the design, the IA issued a tender advertisement and the details are as follows:
Date of invitation: 10-Aug-18
Compulsory briefing meeting date: 13-Aug-18
Tender closing date: 31-Aug-18
Validity period lapsing 90 Days (31-Nov-18)
Four (4) prospective tenderers collected the documents and only two (2) tenderers returned their priced documents, and the IA adjudicated them.
The adjudicated tenderers were found to be non-responsive and their tender prices (R 2 529 806.07 & R 2 964 420.64, respectively) were much higher than the approved budget.
The Department is in the process of consulting and deciding on the best option between increasing the budget to accommodate the market price indications and appointing the cheapest of the above tenders on the one hand and increasing the budget to accommodate the market price indications and authorizing Risimati (IA) to re-advertise immediately for a shorter period in accordance with its tender policy and procedures on the other hand.
2. (a)A total amount of R 305 756.42 has been spent in the project so far.
(b) The projected costs to completion is R2 529 808.07
3. My department wrote a letter of demand to the previous IA, Independent Development Trust (IDT), requesting the return of R1 264 573.42 being the balance for the said project. DAC has also been joined in the ongoing legal proceedings with IDT and its service providers.