A deeply disturbing detail has emerged in a tendering case-within-a-case that came before Justice Boipuso Makhwe at the Lobatse High Court. The case was between a construction company called Net Builders and the Attorney General – which was representing the Ministry of Defence and Security (MDS), itself cited on behalf of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF). Zebra Construction is the third litigant in this sprawling case.
The matter starts in 2022 when MDS floated a tender for construction work at some BDF facilities – Thebephatshwa Air Base, some 30 kilometres west of Molepolole, and an unspecified facility in Francistown have been mentioned. Net Builders, Zebra Construction and Sharps Electrical were among construction companies that submitted bids. Sharps Electrical scored the highest and was given the Francistown job, Net Builders came second and Zebra Construction third. In its court papers, Net Builders says that as the second highest-scoring bidder, it should have been awarded the Thebephatshwa job – which was instead awarded to Zebra Construction.
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