Zwane denies drafting list of preferred contractors for housing project

The provincial government unlawfully spent R600 million in advance payments for the project.

Zwane returned to the commission of inquiry into state capture on Monday to answer to allegations that he was involved in the squandering of taxpayers' money.

According to evidence leader, Advocate Paul Pretorius, minutes of a meeting held in June 2010 show that Zwane presented a list of 106 contractors to the provincial executive committee after a dispute relating to the open tender system.

The companies who were initially awarded contracts to start building houses were not happy following the decision by the exco to increase the sizes of the homes that were to be constructed.

The open tender system collapsed and the department decided to embark on an unlawful process to create a database of new contractors.

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"You gave exco a list, you asked them to approve it and they approved it while the open tender system was underway. The exco told you at that meeting to start constructing houses.

"That list included people who had not tendered at all in the open tender system and the people who were disqualified during that process.

“The only explanation can be that the MEC, together with exco, had their own plan on who was going to construct houses and on what basis, and that had nothing to do with the open tender system," said Pretorius.

Zwane denied it and told the commission the list he gave exco was an expired list from previous years.

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