Question NW308 to the Minister of Social Development
07 March 2022 - NW308
Opperman, Ms G to ask the Minister of Social Development
(a) What number of legal claims for damages are currently against the National Development Agency and (b) to what cumulative value are the legal claims?
Reply:
a) There are currently 3 legal claims for damages against the NDA, namely:
(i) With regard to the Pannar Seeds (Pty) Ltd vs NDA refer to my reply to Parliamentary Question 307.
(ii) Uhuru Printers (Pty) Ltd vs NDA (R3 507 000 .00 plus interest). This matter is currently before court. Uhuru Printers took the NDA to court claiming damages for the alleged breach of contract. The contract was awarded irregularly as it discovered that it was awarded after the expiry of the validity period. The NDA on the instruction of the then board cancelled the contract. On advice of legal counsel, the NDA instituted an application to review the decision to award the tender to Uhuru Printers, which is also currently pending before the High Court.
The review application was heard on 12 February 2021 and the Court gave an order in favour of the NDA by default in the following terms:
a) The NDA’S decision to award tender number NDA10/MC01/13 (“the tender”) to Uhuru it is reviewed and set aside
b) It is declared that no valid and lawful agreement came into existence between the NDA and Uhuru pursuant to the aforesaid decision to award the tender to Uhuru
c) The costs of this application shall be paid by Uhuru.
Uhuru Printers thereafter applied for a rescission of the default judgment granted in favour of the NDA. We are awaiting the court decision on the rescission application.
(iii) Fairdeal vs the NDA (R 199,990.40). The NDA procured the services of the Plaintiff to train and accommodate members of civil society organisations. The plaintiff failed to deliver contracted services as per the Service Level Agreement. This resulted in the termination of the contract and the NDA withheld the transfer of the remaining tranche, which resulted in the plaintiff instituting legal claim for damages.
Fairdeal Poultry has failed to set the matter down and get a trial date. At some stage, the plaintiff instituted a parallel process by reporting the matter to the Public Protector but failed to follow through with all the necessary processes.
b) The amount claimed by the plaintiffs against the NDA are reflected above per each case, but the true amount will only be known once a competent court of law has decided on the merits of each case brought against the NDA.