SA’s highest court has ruled in favour of Altron, standing behind a 2020 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal to overturn a high court ruling on the loss of a contract worth R1.2bn by the City of Tshwane that had been awarded to the technology group.
The matter relates to a dispute between Thobela Telecoms — an Altron affiliate — and the City of Tshwane over the city’s allegations that the tender award process was unlawful due to internal processes and procedures not being correctly followed. The project was put on hold by the City of Tshwane pending the outcome of the court case.
This week, the Constitutional Court ruled against the City of Tshwane’s application for condonation and dismissed the application for leave to appeal with costs.
This latest court decision may put an end to the long running legal case between Altron and the City of Tshwane.
In September 2019, Thobela Telecoms, in which Altron is a minority shareholder, had been granted leave to appeal against a July court judgment that set aside the City of Tshwane’s R1.2bn municipal broadband contract.
At the time, the high court in Pretoria set aside the contract, which was awarded in 2015 to Thobela Telecoms, created specifically to bid for the contract. Altron was involved as a primary network designer and architect, as well as a supplier of broadband equipment and related services.
After the contract was awarded, the city said the tender process was unlawful because its own internal processes and procedures were not correctly followed.
Altron was one of three applicants who applied for leave to appeal against the initial judgment. At the time, the leave to appeal was granted on the basis that there was a reasonable prospect of another court coming to a different decision.
The technology group, headed by CEO Mteto Nyati, previously said that it had completed about 40% of the project before funding was stopped. It was owed R270m, but only expected to recover about R200m. Altron has contracts to build similar networks in Gauteng, Limpopo and Cape Town.
The original contract was for three years, with an additional 18 years for an operation and maintenance contract. Thobela would, at the end of the stated period, transfer a 1,500km fibreoptic broadband network, which would provide internet access to the City of Tshwane’s underserviced areas.
The appeal court overturned the high court’s judgment in its entirety, saying there was no basis for finding any possible maladministration or mismanagement of Altron Nexus. The court said the City of Tshwane and its officials were solely to blame for the predicament.
In a statement, Altron legal group executive Hansie Schutte said the company was satisfied with the court’s decision. “We are pleased with the outcome of the Constitutional Court’s order and we see this judgment as a victory for the people of Tshwane and all companies who obey the rule of the law as well as the funders involved in this project”.
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