Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd v South African National Parks and Others (041563/2024) [2025] ZAGPPHC 325 (11 April 2025)

Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd v South African National Parks and Others (041563/2024) [2025] ZAGPPHC 325 (11 April 2025)

The court found that the tender documents, when read as a whole, required bidders to submit audited or independently reviewed annual financial statements for the most recent three years. Gijima Holdings (Pty) Ltd failed to comply with this requirement, submitting only two years of audited statements, while other bidders were disqualified for similar infractions. The court held that SANParks acted inconsistently and unfairly by allowing Gijima to proceed to the next phase despite non-compliance. The purported amendments to the tender requirements after the closing date were invalid and not properly published. The decision to award the tender to Gijima was not in accordance with the...

Citation
[2025] ZAGPPHC 325
Parties
Applicant: Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: South African National Parks; Respondent: Gijima Holdings (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Reikemetse Projects CC; Respondent: Wire Speed Systems (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: NEC XON Systems (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Try Lil Bytes-Themolo JV; Respondent: Business Connexion (Pty) Ltd
Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
11 April 2025
Case Number
041563/2024
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Judgment After Main Review Hearing
Outcome
Application granted; decision to award tender set aside; applicant to continue services for twelve months; costs awarded against first and second respondents.
Judges
M.P. Motha
Legal Topics
Public Procurement, Mandatory Tender Requirements, Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, Fairness in Tender Process, Bid Disqualification, Interpretation of Tender Documents
Administrative Law Commercial and Corporate Public Procurement Mandatory Tender Requirements Promotion of Administrative Justice Act Fairness in Tender Process Bid Disqualification Interpretation of Tender Documents

Case Brief

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Parties

Datacentrix (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

South African National Parks

Respondent

Gijima Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Reikemetse Projects CC

Respondent

Wire Speed Systems (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

NEC XON Systems (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Try Lil Bytes-Themolo JV

Respondent

Business Connexion (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Judgment After Main Review Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the second respondent's failure to submit audited annual financial statements for three years constituted non-compliance with a mandatory tender requirement.
  2. 2 Whether the second respondent's failure to submit a Linux Professional Institute certificate constituted non-compliance with a mandatory tender requirement.
  3. 3 Whether SANParks applied the mandatory requirements consistently to all bidders.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the tender documents, when read as a whole, required bidders to submit audited or independently reviewed annual financial statements for the most recent three years. Gijima Holdings (Pty) Ltd failed to comply with this requirement, submitting only two years of audited statements, while other bidders were disqualified for similar infractions. The court held that SANParks acted inconsistently and unfairly by allowing Gijima to proceed to the next phase despite non-compliance. The purported amendments to the tender requirements after the closing date were invalid and not properly published. The decision to award the tender to Gijima was not in accordance with the...

Court Disposition

Application granted; decision to award tender set aside; applicant to continue services for twelve months; costs awarded against first and second respondents.

Orders

  • The first respondent's decision to award the tender GNP-005-23 to the second respondent is reviewed and set aside.
  • The applicant is directed to continue to deliver the current services to SANParks for a period of twelve months from the date of judgment on the same terms and conditions as set out in the agreement concluded in February 2019 pursuant to the award of bid number GNP-008-18 to the applicant mutatis mutandis.