With Pikitup around, one never has to look far for entertainment of the bizarre kind.
Just as Managing Director Amanda Nair puts out one fire she creates another, and now the Democratic Alliance (DA) wants her head on a plate.
According to a media statement by the DA’s Pikitup spokesperson Alan Fuchs dated 28 June, “the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the City of Johannesburg will be writing to the Chairperson of the Section 79 oversight committee on Infrastructure, Services and Environment to request that Pikitup MD, Amanda Nair, appear before the committee”.
This comes after allegations that a R263 million Pikitup tender was awarded to Aqua Transport Plant Hire in spite of an Ernst and Young investigation – that cost Pikitup R6 million – that revealed that Aqua Transport Plant Hire was involved in tender collusion and should be criminally charged.
According to Fuchs, “Pikitup has been one of the worst-run entities in the City of Johannesburg due to poor management and lack of proper oversight by the Executive.
Employees accuse the management of treating them with contempt and sensitive information is leaked to the press. Allegations abound of phones being tapped, e-mails being read by management and private security guards being employed to keep the management safe.
In the meantime, Nair ascribes all of this to disaffected employees who are feeling the pressure of organisational transformation.
“The Managing Director needs to urgently explain to the Committee why she awarded this tender.
She also needs to explain why she is ignoring the recommendations of Ernst and Young after spending R6 million of public money to conduct the initial investigation,” says Fuchs.
