…after fallout with SSL JV
Seithati Motšoeneng
THE Maseru City Council (MCC) has appointed a new South African consulting firm, Pasco Waste and Environmental Consultant, to oversee the rehabilitation of the controversial Tšosane Dumpsite following a bitter fallout with its previous consultant, SSL Joint Venture (JV).
The appointment was announced during a community gathering at Ha-Tšosane on Friday, where the Council updated residents on plans to close and rehabilitate the long-troubled dumpsite.
Speaking at the gathering, Maseru Deputy Town Clerk, ‘Moea Makhakhe, said the Council had appointed a firm with greater experience in dumpsite rehabilitation after terminating its contract with SSL JV.
“Unlike the other consultant that we had previously appointed to work on this dumpsite, which had no experience in dumpsite rehabilitation but had a joint venture with an experienced company, the current consulting firm has experience in working on such projects, making it more suitable for the job,” Mr Makhakhe said.
He explained that the fallout with SSL JV arose from disagreements over the scope of work and the budget, particularly whether the stabilisation of the site should be included in the original contract.
According to Mr Makhakhe, SSL JV was initially awarded a tender worth M27 million but later revised its financial proposal to M60 million to cover the full rehabilitation works, including site stabilisation.
He said the Council was still reviewing the revised budget when it discovered that the tender had been issued beyond its procurement threshold.
Mr Makhakhe said the MCC’s procurement limit was M20 million, rendering the agreement with SSL JV invalid.
“We still went back to them and explained the situation, and while we were still trying to resolve their issues, they had already run to the media about matters which we were still trying to resolve amicably,” Mr Makhakhe said.
He said the Council followed the necessary procedures to address the matter and sought legal advice from the Attorney General, Advocate Rapelang Motsieloa KC, who advised that the agreement was illegal and should be terminated.
“We therefore terminated the contract as advised by the Attorney General and re-tendered, leading to the appointment of the new consulting firm,” he said.
However, SSL JV has strongly disputed the Council’s decision, accusing it of unlawfully terminating a legally binding contract.
In a letter dated 12 June 2026 and addressed to the MCC through its legal representatives, Tharollo Chambers, SSL JV described the Council’s position as “belated, vague, speculative and unsubstantiated”.
SSL JV’s lawyers argued that the contract had met all procurement requirements, including public tendering, technical and financial evaluations, negotiations, the issuance of a Letter of Award and the eventual signing of the agreement.
SSL JV further argued that the MCC had not raised any concerns about procurement limits or its legal authority to enter into the contract during the tendering process, negotiations or signing.
The company maintained that by issuing the Letter of Award and signing the agreement, the Council had effectively confirmed that it possessed the necessary legal authority to enter into the contract.
SSL JV warned that if the MCC proceeded to cancel or invalidate the agreement, it would have no option but to approach the courts for redress.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of years of tension between Ha-Tšosane residents and the MCC over the dumpsite, which residents have demanded be closed because of health and environmental concerns. The matter even spilled into the court, with the High Court ordering the rehabilitation of the Tšosane Dumpsite in March this year.
The Council has since announced that the Tšosane Dumpsite is expected to cease operations completely by February next year, once an alternative landfill cell at Tšoeneng is completed.