Four companies have been referred for prosecution in the Tribunal for price fixing and tender collusion involving an Eskom tender worth R4.5 billion.
This follows a complaint lodged by Eskom and a subsequent Commission investigation into collusive tendering for the supply, installation and dismantling of scaffolding and thermal insulation for all of the 15 Eskom coal-fired power stations.

The Commission’s investigation found evidence of price fixing and collusive tendering on the part of Waco Africa (Pty) Ltd, acting through its division, SGB Cape, Tedoc Industries (Pty) Ltd, Mtsweni Corrosion Control (Pty) Ltd and Superfecta Trading 159 CC and three joint ventures which SGB Cape formed with each of the aforementioned companies through bilateral agreements.

The investigation found, among others, the following:
 SGB Cape concluded bilateral agreements with each of Tedoc Industries, Mtsweni Corrosion Control and Superfecta Trading to form three separate joint ventures to be used to tender collusively;
 SGB Cape submitted bids on its behalf and on behalf of the three joint ventures; and
 SGB Cape priced the bids in such a way that it manipulated prices quoted by itself and the respective joint ventures.

Background

The invitation for the Eskom tender in question was issued on 15 March 2015.
Thirty-one suppliers responded to the tender when it closed at the end April 2015 and included SGB Cape, Tedoc SGB Cape Joint Venture, Superfecta SGB Cape Joint Venture and Mtsweni SGB Cape Joint Venture, the respondents in this case.
In March 2016, the Commission received Eskom’s complaint in which it alleged that SGB Cape and the three joint ventures (Tedoc SGB Cape Joint Venture, Superfecta SGB Cape Joint Venture and Mtsweni SGB Cape Joint Venture) may have colluded when bidding for the tender.

The following led to Eskom suspecting collusion in relation to the bids:
 SGB Cape submitted multiple tenders. One was its own and the other three were as a member of joint ventures;
 The same person signed all four tender submissions; and
 Safety, financial, technical and quality documents in all four bids were identical.

On 13 March 2017, Eskom withdrew its complaint and on 16 March 2017, the Commissioner decided to continue with the investigation of the withdrawn complaint in terms of Rule 16(2) of the Commission Rules.

SGB Cape, as the incumbent interdicted Eskom from disqualifying it and awarding the tender to a new supplier. As a result, SGB Cape continued to render the services to Eskom.
SGB Cape is a marine and event scaffolding supplier and also specialises in maintenance works such as thermal insulation, corrosion protection, asbestos removal and industrial plastic encapsulation.
Tedoc, Mtsweni and Superfecta are all human resource companies and offer services which include recruitment, placement, payroll and all HR related administration and management. Based on the Commission’s investigation, the three joint ventures were established for purposes of bidding for this tender.


Issued by The Competition Commission of South Africa