Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane and the head of department (HOD) could face contempt of court charges for failing to comply with an order to produce documents relating to the province’s R9 billion school nutrition programme.

Chiloane, the department, and the HOD were hauled to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, by Umnothowethu Trading Enterprise (UTE) this week. Earlier this month, the department appointed Albert Chanee as acting HOD, replacing Rufus Mmutlana.

The company wanted all three to be declared in contempt of court for failing to comply with Judge Brad Wanless’s May 13, 2025, order, which gave them 20 days to compile a confidential redacted version of the bid submissions of all of the tenderers who responded to the tender advertisement.

They were also ordered to upload that confidential version of the record onto Caselines, the judiciary’s electronic case management and litigation system.

In addition, Judge Wanless ordered that they furnish copies thereof to UTE’s attorneys, taking care to redact all price-sensitive and other confidential information belonging to the tenderers.

UTE wants access to the list of the names of all the bidders for the tender, their contact details, complete bid submissions, all records of the bid evaluation and bid adjudication committees (BEC and BAC), scores cards of each member, school and learner allocations for the successful bidders, service level agreements signed with them, and the criteria for allocation, among others.

The department has delivered some of the documents, but not the BEC and BAC report, which UTE believes is irregular, and has not provided reasons for this.

It has also not provided documents on how the allocation of schools, learners, and amounts was made to the successful bidders and all correspondence with the bidders, both successful and unsuccessful.

The lucrative tender was for the procurement, storage, supply, and delivery of dry and perishable groceries for the learners in primary, secondary, special schools, and identified learners in Quintile 4 and 5 schools in the 10 districts in Gauteng for a fixed-term period of three years.

The company wanted the court to jail Chiloane and the HOD for 30 days should they fail to comply and provide the required documents.

In the contempt of court application, UTE wanted the department, Chiloane, and the HOD given five days to comply with Judge Wanless’s order.

However, the matter has been removed from the roll for now, with costs reserved in the main case, in which UTE seeks to review and set aside the decision to disqualify it and wants the department to be ordered to evaluate the tender afresh, including its own bid.

In the contempt of court application, UTE wanted the department, Chiloane, and the HOD given five days to comply with Judge Wanless’s order.

However, the matter has been removed from the roll for now, with costs reserved in the main case, in which UTE seeks to review and set aside the decision to disqualify it and wants the department to be ordered to evaluate the tender afresh including its own bid.

The department has been ordered to submit a supplementary affidavit by Friday, August 22, 2025, sworn under oath, confirming that it truly does not have the documents they have not provided to the company.

According to the department, the Office of the State Attorney, Johannesburg, has indicated that it has taken all reasonable and lawful steps to comply with the court order granted by Judge Wanless.

“Should your office proceed with the contemplated contempt application, our client is prepared to place all relevant facts before the Honourable Court to demonstrate that it has complied with the court order to the best of its ability, within the limits of its record, and statutory duties,” the State Attorney’s Office said last month.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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