Not possible. Assuming that the award was proper and regular, a contract has been entered into, a cancelation may have financial consequences for the government.
In any event, a minister has no power to cancel a procurement contract. He didn’t make the order. He has no powers to procure or to cancel a procurement. He does though, as a member of Cabinet, have the power to change the policy which was the basis of the procurement.
The Minister has been given a government house or a house leased to government. It must be furnished. He is not going to sleep on the floor, so he will need a bed. He is not going to make biltong, so he will need a fridge.
The Minister’s house is huge, perhaps 4 bedroomed. Furnishing it will not be cheap.
The Minister may be objecting to the price tag of his furniture. What does he think is a reasonable amount? What about the house, is he objecting to its size or price tag?
The Minister should do what he should have done BEFORE the furniture was ordered for him (and for all the 28 cabinet ministers and assistant ministers). He should raise the issue of the package he is ENTITLED to, with Cabinet. He wants a smaller house? A smaller fridge? A less spongy bed? He should fix the policy, not attack the shopper holding his shopping list.
The UDC should have reviewed the Cabinet Manual and the Green Book to get them in line with THEIR own policies.
The Minister can not now blame a procurement officer for procuring furniture in accordance with the policies and rules that the UDC government has assumed and embraced.
The Minister must accept the bed and lie in it. It’s his bed. It’s an expensive bed, but it was bought on his instructions by an officer who had no power to buy a cheaper bed. Kana jang?
#WeThePeople
