Top leaders within the DA have been asked to hand in their electronic devices.
This is in a bid to find out who leaked a story to the media about party leader Mmusi Maimane’s candidacy for Western Cape Premier.
Maimane has since withdrawn from the race, with Alan Winde named as the party’s candidate.
The DA’s federal legal commission chair Glynnis Breytenbach is leading the investigation.
It found their involvement was unlawful, that the contract was rendered invalid and its termination was required, Zille said.
“According to our senior counsel, Advocate Geoff Budlender, this conclusion is legally flawed and cannot be sustained,” she said.
There was no clause in the Constitution, the Public Finance Management Act, the Treasury Regulations, or the Accounting Officer’s System that explicitly or implicitly prohibited the involvement of special advisers in the bid evaluation process.
The Western Cape government did not have the legal power to terminate the contract, Budlender told Zille.
It would have to apply to the Western Cape High Court, but the court would “inevitably find that considerations of public interest, pragmatism and practicality lead to the conclusion that the award of the tender should not be set aside”, Zille quoted him as saying.
The court application would result in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
City Press reported that the contract amount was capped at R70m a year for two years for “ongoing costs”. It also provided R1.5m for “once-off deliverables”.
Source: eNCA
