That pile on the desk is the BAC/BEC report and meeting minutes – why has it not being handed over?

Knysna Municipality has been rocked by several tender controversies. In November 2014, that included non-white upper municipal management quitting the Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) in protest. They reckoned there was interference before their recommendations were reaching the Bid Adjudication Committee (BAC) which awards the tenders i.e. decides who gets the money.

As usual, getting answers is seriously delayed. And, even when we do get them, as history has proven, getting ‘answers’ isn’t always answers but rather leads to more questions e.g. we still don’t have MEC Anton Bredell’s full report on the ISDF tender or an explanation why ratepayers’ money was illegally used to pay Tourism’s debt.

Activist Susan Campbell stated correctly to the Knysna-Plett Herald that, “No director or senior manager can be part of a possible investigation, because the very problem is between the BEC and the BAC of which they are all members or previous members.” Was this adhered to?

At the Section 80 Finance Committee Meeting yesterday, that big pile on the desk was the BEC/BAC report and minutes. Not only has it not being made public but has not being given to the opposition Councillors. Why have Municipal Manager Grant Easton, Director Planning & Development Mike Maughn-Brown and Mayor Georlene Wolmarans not done so?