AG sleeps on the job

The tender was cancelled because the company, Guild Combination, was not duly registered in Botswana.The Gauteng firm which publishes newsletters and other corporate publications, was awarded its P1.5 million suit by Justice Lot Moroka after government attorneys failed to respond to the South Africans' founding affidavit. The case was to be decided by the judicial case management system before Moroka. When government lawyers failed to file their plea, the company filed for a default judgment which the court granted. On top of the P1.5 million, the South African company was also awarded costs of the case.

 The Attorney General's Chambers made a last ditch effort when it realised that the South African company had applied for judgement but Moroka would not entertain the last minute action, saying the Attorney General had failed to abide by the rules of the court as well as with the court order that directed them to file their plea by March 9. Moroka also said that the Attorney General's lawyers failed to explain their failure to comply with the court order.