On June 26, corruption-accused businessman Edwin Sodi’s lawyers wrote to the City of Tshwane, explaining why his company NJR should not be blacklisted for its involvement in the failed Rooiwal water treatment plant upgrade.
Sodi’s reasons, published for the first time by this publication on Friday, give some insight into his version of events, which led to his company being fired from the project.
They are twofold.
Sodi blames his joint venture partner CMS Water, whose director Rudolf Schoeman he accuses of committing fraud resulting in the collapse of their project.
He further claims that prior to the cancellation of the contract, he offered to rescue the project but his offer was rejected by the city.
Except none of these reasons are convincing enough to shield NJR from accountability.
First, Schoeman has died and therefore the legitimacy of Sodi’s version cannot be tested.
Furthermore, the City of Tshwane should not be burdened with the responsibility to discern claims and counterclaims from a joint venture that collectively failed to deliver on its obligations.
Second, Sodi’s offer to rescue the project entailed NJR being given the opportunity to finish a portion of the work previously assigned to CMS.
Except, this offer was disingenuous as Sodi’s company did not have the required industry grading to do the work.
It therefore would have made no sense for the city to entertain a rescue plan from a company whose joint performance was not only poor, but also lacked the requisite expertise to carry out a highly technical aspect of the job.
This is over and above the fact that the contract was awarded irregularly to begin with – a fact the city must take responsibility for.
None of the reasons provided by Sodi are justifiable grounds to reverse the process of blacklisting his company from doing business with the government.
The irregular awarding of this contract as well as the subsequent poor performance by contractors was not without serious consequences for the public.
Several people died in Hammanskraal after an outbreak of cholera in May.
While the source of the outbreak is yet to be officially determined, the existence of the waterborne disease cannot be removed from the ongoing water problems which persist in the township precisely because of the quality of supply from Rooiwal.
It would therefore be unjustifiable for the city not to hold NJR accountable for one of its most consequential failures.
SOWETAN | Sodi turns to passing the buck
Failed Rooiwal upgrade played a role in cholera deaths
Image: Mlungisi Louw
On June 26, corruption-accused businessman Edwin Sodi’s lawyers wrote to the City of Tshwane, explaining why his company NJR should not be blacklisted for its involvement in the failed Rooiwal water treatment plant upgrade.
Sodi’s reasons, published for the first time by this publication on Friday, give some insight into his version of events, which led to his company being fired from the project.
They are twofold.
Sodi blames his joint venture partner CMS Water, whose director Rudolf Schoeman he accuses of committing fraud resulting in the collapse of their project.
He further claims that prior to the cancellation of the contract, he offered to rescue the project but his offer was rejected by the city.
Except none of these reasons are convincing enough to shield NJR from accountability.
First, Schoeman has died and therefore the legitimacy of Sodi’s version cannot be tested.
Furthermore, the City of Tshwane should not be burdened with the responsibility to discern claims and counterclaims from a joint venture that collectively failed to deliver on its obligations.
Second, Sodi’s offer to rescue the project entailed NJR being given the opportunity to finish a portion of the work previously assigned to CMS.
Except, this offer was disingenuous as Sodi’s company did not have the required industry grading to do the work.
It therefore would have made no sense for the city to entertain a rescue plan from a company whose joint performance was not only poor, but also lacked the requisite expertise to carry out a highly technical aspect of the job.
This is over and above the fact that the contract was awarded irregularly to begin with – a fact the city must take responsibility for.
None of the reasons provided by Sodi are justifiable grounds to reverse the process of blacklisting his company from doing business with the government.
The irregular awarding of this contract as well as the subsequent poor performance by contractors was not without serious consequences for the public.
Several people died in Hammanskraal after an outbreak of cholera in May.
While the source of the outbreak is yet to be officially determined, the existence of the waterborne disease cannot be removed from the ongoing water problems which persist in the township precisely because of the quality of supply from Rooiwal.
It would therefore be unjustifiable for the city not to hold NJR accountable for one of its most consequential failures.
Sodi’s Rooiwal ‘rescue plan’ was a nonstarter – Tshwane
It wasn’t me: Sodi blames dead partner for Rooiwal upgrade mess
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