If the normal tender process was not halted and a deviation was not signed, violence among SMMEs would have continued with service delivery grinding to a complete halt. This was the reason given by economic development boss Anele Qaba when asked why he had requested that the tender process to appoint a middleman be cancelled only for a deviation to be signed off by him the next day.
After cancelling the normal tender process, economic development executive director and current acting city manager Anele Qaba has been accused of signing a deviation the very next day that ultimately led to a company being handpicked as a middleman between the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and SMMEs.
Payments to the consultant company that had hundreds of small business owners converging on the Gqeberha City Hall will be fast-tracked once outstanding documentation is provided.