The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee (PPC) on Public Works in Cape Town today to outline the process prescribed by its regulatory framework to address collusion in construction which has been uncovered by the Competition Commission.
This follows an announcement by the Competition Commission in June 2013 that fifteen construction companies have admitted guilt to collusion on Government infrastructure projects, including the 2010 Soccer World Cup stadia. Most of these companies are registered on the cidb Register of Contractors which grades and categorizes contractors on capability to carry out construction projects.
The cidb Code of Conduct for parties engaged in construction procurement prohibits contractors from ‘engaging in collusive practices that have direct or indirect adverse impacts on the cost of the project to the employer’.
In its report to the PPC today the cidb said it was in the process of appointing an investigative team to kick start an investigation and action in terms of its mandate. It is also studying the consent agreements signed between the Competition Commission and the contractors concerned.
Welcoming the outcome of the Competition Commission investigation in June 2013, the cidb Acting CEO Hlengiwe Khumalo described collusion as exclusionary by its very nature and has the impact to undermine development and transformation in the construction industry. She said the cidb intends to follow the substance and process of the law as outlined in its prescripts in dealing with the collusion case and does not wish to pre-empt the outcome of the formal inquiry.
The companies will be investigated in terms of the cidb Code of Conduct and the Construction Industry Development (CID) Regulations of 2004 as amended.
The cidb has thanked the media for its role in exposing collusion in the construction industry and has impressed on the need to be afforded the time and space to follow its own processes of investigation and enquiry judiciously and within the bounds of its mandate.
The cidb is established in terms of the Construction Industry Development Board Act 38 of 2000 to provide strategic leadership to stakeholders and to stimulate sustainable growth, reform and improvement of the construction industry.
For more information contact:
Kotli Molise
Cell: 082 824 7078
Tel: 012 482 7078
