Tau Grading and Building Construction (applicant) has taken the following to court: Pro-Serve Consulting Botswana (first respondent), Absa Bank Botswana (second respondent), the Attorney General – representing the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (third respondent), and Unik Construction Engineering (fourth respondent). The Ministry of Transport has engaged Pro-Serve Botswana under the acclaimed Development Manager Model for the construction of a tarred/asphalt road and ancillary works between the villages of Modipane and Mabalane in the Kgatleng District. According to the company to date, the first respondent cannot point to any plant, equipment, or labour which ought to have been on site but was not.
It argues that a suspension of work (or tools down) does not mean that the applicant abandoned the site. Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a ‘siren’ on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a ‘red flag’. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be…
