R2.6bn Transnet tender was "fair"

The Public Protector is investigating the deal with Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company‚ a subsidiary of CSR Corporation after a complaint was lodged in December by a Cape Town-based Marxist party‚ which compared the Transnet contract with a similar Chinese train tender in Namibia that also drew the attention of investigators.

Last year‚ Transnet awarded the tender for the supply of the electric locomotives to a consortium comprising Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive and local black economic-empowerment (BEE) consortium Matsetse Basadi. The deal marked the first time Transnet bought locomotives from a Chinese original equipment manufacturer. The deal is part of a R300bn upgrade to Transnet's railways and ports to overcome freight bottlenecks in the country.

However in a complaint to the Public Protector last year‚ the Workers International Vanguard Party said trains supplied by CSR to Namibia in 2005 were so fault-prone they were withdrawn from active service soon after delivery.

"Transnet management must have been aware of this history. This raises the question as to how did it awarded the tender to Zhuzhou‚" party secretary Shaheed Mahomed said.

The Public Protector's office confirmed the deal was under investigation but offered no details.

Transnet spokesman Mboniso Sigonyela said the group was not aware that the deal was being investigated.

"We are confident of the fairness and openness of the processes followed. We have stringent governance requirements in place for our procurement processes‚ including this contract," Sigonyela said.

"We will co-operate fully with any investigation by the authorities‚ should we be required to do so‚" Sigonyela added.