admin
Mashudu Netsianda Senior Court Reporter
MANIFEST Security (Pvt) Ltd has filed another application at the Bulawayo High Court seeking an order compelling Mpilo Central Hospital to extend notice for the termination of its contract.
Manifest Security, which is allegedly owed more than $1 million by the hospital for security services rendered over two years, was in November last year given a three-month notice of termination of the open-ended contract to provide security services at the hospital.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Nokuthula Moyo in February confirmed a provisional order interdicting Mpilo Central Hospital from cancelling the contract for the provision of security services.
In a letter dated November 21, 2014 and signed by the hospital’s chief executive officer, Dr Lawrence Mantiziba, Manifest Security was given up to February 28, 2015 to wind up its operations at Mpilo.
According to court papers, Manifest Security (Pvt) Ltd is the applicant while Mpilo Central Hospital was cited as the respondent.
In his founding affidavit, Manifest Security (Pvt) Ltd managing director, Earnest Makandigona Shora through his lawyers, Cheda and Partners, argued that the three months notice was unreasonably “too short” and also in violation of the Administrative Justice Act.
“This is an application to declare the administrative decision of the respondent as unreasonable and unfair pursuant to section 4 of the Administrative Justice Act. The applicant did not draw up a formal contract and in terms of the conditions of the contract, the parties’ conduct was governed by the accepted tender document which formed a binding contract between the parties,” said Shora.
According to the court papers, the contract did not provide for a fixed period for the provision of security services.
Shora said: “The notice of termination of service is unreasonable and unfair considering that the applicant has 150 security guards and is required at law to give notice to its workers and begin negotiating with trade unions for retrenchment, a process which is cumbersome and cannot be completed in three months.”
Manifest Security was in 2012 invited by the then acting chief executive officer of Mpilo Central Hospital Dr Wedu Ndebele to tender for security services at the hospital under tender number MPILO-SUBCON/SEC 01/2012.
The tender had no fixed or stipulated contract period for the provision of the security services by the successful tenderer.
After the close of the tenders, the hospital carried out the evaluation of the tenderers and covertly awarded the tender to Modern Security allegedly on the basis that it was the lowest bidder.
Dissatisfied with Dr Mantiziba’s evaluation, Manifest Security appealed to the Administrative Court under Case Number P116/12.
The Administrative Court upheld the appeal and awarded the tender to Manifest Security.
Last week, Manifest Security filed a lawsuit against Mpilo Central Hospital for allegedly breaching the contract by failing to settle $1, 118, 127, 52 owed for security services rendered between February 2013 and February 2015.
Online Reporter