Cosatu benefits from toll roads
2012-04-01 12:11
Johannesburg - Trade union federation Cosatu has benefited from plans to introduce toll roads to Gauteng, City Press reported on Sunday.
The Congress of SA Trade Unions' (Cosatu) investment arm Kopano Ke Matla has shares in construction company Raubex, the weekly reported.
Raubex won a tender to build the R21, which forms part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. These roads will be tolled to pay for their construction.
Raubex received R800m for the project.
Kopano Ke Matla holds three percent of Raubex, so it would have received R24m as a result, according to the weekly.
Raubex also unsuccessfully bid for both the second phase of the project, and the N1/N2 Winelands toll roads in the Western Cape.
This week, the ANC confronted Cosatu about the trade union's involvement in tolling, City Press reported.
Zwelimzima Vavi told the newspaper he was unaware of Kopano Ke Matla's activities.
"That was only brought to our attention in the meeting with the ANC. We were not aware of that," he was quoted as saying.
"When we checked, we established that they didn't win the contract. We are not beneficiaries and we, accordingly, asked Kopano to withdraw any further attempts to bid for any of the contracts related to the privatisation of the roads."
Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven was unable to comment on the matter on Sunday morning.
