Urban Icon (Pty) Ltd v South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd and Others (28814/2020) [2023] ZAGPPHC 1988 (11 December 2023)

Urban Icon (Pty) Ltd v South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd and Others (28814/2020) [2023] ZAGPPHC 1988 (11 December 2023)

The court found that SANRAL was entitled to conduct a holistic due diligence and risk evaluation beyond the functionality and price scoring, as permitted by the PPPFA and the tender documents. The objective criteria, including unacceptable commercial risk and capacity to deliver on multiple concurrent projects, were...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2023] ZAGPPHC 1988
Parties
Applicant: Urban Icon (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd; Respondent: Nyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Ilifa Africa Engineers; Respondent: BVI Consulting Engineers Western Cape (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: The Minister of Finance; Respondent: The Minister of Transport
Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Case Number
28814/2020
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Final Judgment on Part B (review and Setting Aside of Tender Awards)
Outcome
Application dismissed with costs.
Judges
R G Tolmay
Legal Topics
Public Procurement, Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, Objective Criteria in Tender Awards, Due Diligence in Tender Process, Unacceptable Commercial Risk, Judicial Review of Administrative Action
Administrative Law Commercial and Corporate Public Procurement Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act Objective Criteria in Tender Awards Due Diligence in Tender Process Unacceptable Commercial Risk Judicial Review of Administrative Action

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Urban Icon (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd

Respondent

Nyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

Ilifa Africa Engineers

Respondent

BVI Consulting Engineers Western Cape (Pty) Ltd

Respondent

The Minister of Finance

Respondent

The Minister of Transport

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Final Judgment on Part B (review and Setting Aside of Tender Awards)

  1. 1 Whether SANRAL was permitted to conduct a holistic due diligence and risk evaluation beyond functionality and price scoring under the PPPFA.
  2. 2 Whether the invitation to tender disclosed SANRAL's intention to conduct such an assessment and whether non-disclosure rendered the award procedurally unfair.
  3. 3 Whether objective criteria existed as envisaged in section 2(1)(f) of the PPPFA to justify awarding the tenders to bidders other than the highest scorer.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that SANRAL was entitled to conduct a holistic due diligence and risk evaluation beyond the functionality and price scoring, as permitted by the PPPFA and the tender documents. The objective criteria, including unacceptable commercial risk and capacity to deliver on multiple concurrent projects, were properly stipulated and justified awarding the tenders to other bidders. Urban Icon was given ample opportunity to address concerns and no procedural unfairness or bias was established. The monitoring decision did not constitute administrative action subject to review. Furthermore, Urban Icon failed to prove it was registered as a Consulting Engineering Firm, rendering it...

Court Disposition

Application dismissed with costs.

Orders

  • The application is dismissed.
  • The applicant is to pay the costs of the first and third respondents pertaining to Part A and B of the application, including the costs of two counsel and senior counsel where applicable.