Africa-Press – Eswatini. MPs have recommended that a select committee be chosen to investigate the issue of the E12 million tender awarded to Slomoes Corporation.
The tender had been awarded to the company to provide a local government elections system. The idea of an inquiry into the tender was brought to the fore by Kukhanyeni Member of Parliament (MP) Malavi Sihlongonyane during the adoption of the reports of ministries’ portfolio committee annual performance reports and budget estimates for the financial year 2023/24 in Parliament yesterday. The MP, who declared his desire to address some of the issues on the report of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development prior to its adoption, minced no words when he submitted that there was rot in the issuance of the tender.
The legislator said the country found itself engulfed by issues of corruption because there was a lot of rot in government ministries. The bone of contention from the legislator was that there were three companies who bid for the same tender, but the expensive bidder, whose price was E12 million, was preferred over the two others who would have cost government E1.2 million and E800 000 respectively. The latter, as revealed by the MP, were Wits Tech and the Royal Science Technology Park (RSTP).
Bidding
The legislator said in his investigations on the tender, he found that even though there were three companies bidding for the tender, it turned out that it was actually a single source. Single source procurement, according to procurementtactics.com, is one in which two or more vendors can supply the commodity, technology and /or perform the services required by an agency, but the department selects one vendor over the others. “The ministry opted for the expensive bidder and the others were not even engaged on the tender,” he said. Referring to the expensive tenderer as company C, Sihlongonyane said his investigation unearthed that the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) together with the ministry, came to an agreement to award company C the tender. “It leaves a lot to be desired that the tender became a single source; why is that, when there were companies, especially the one that belongs to government, which could have cost a mere E800 000. One wonders if we really need the system because we successfully did by-elections with the help of RSTP, alone,” he submitted.
Asserted
Sihlongonyane said he had a conversation with the RSTP CEO and he asserted that the entity had all the necessary gadgets to get the job done and it boggled the mind that the ministry opted for an expensive bidder when better options were on the table. “There is a lot of rot in this ministry and I recommend that we have a select committee that will look into this tender and if there is something that was not done procedurally, the implicated persons should be brought to book. We can’t carry on like this as a country,” he said. Sihlongonyane was supported by Manzini South MP Thandi Nxumalo, who is also the Chairman of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Portfolio Committee. Nxumalo also alluded that there was a lot of rot in the ministry which the Minister, Prince Simelane, was aware of. She even stated that they had been working closely with the minister in addressing the rot in the ministry, but he had been unsuccessful putting a stop to it.
Dismay
In fact, Nxumalo said the minister was not at ease at his home (akaphatseki kahle ekhaya lakhe), while referring to the ministry, much to the dismay of the legislators who made exclamation to the submission. “I would suggest Mr Speaker that you prioritise the motion so that the matter is addressed appropriately. All that has been submitted concerning the rot in the ministry is true and the minister is also aware of it,” she said. Ludzeludze MP Vusi Swali wondered what the E12 million tender was meant for when the essential stage of the elections, which was the registration, had been completed but the company had not offered the services it had been paid for. “The company selected for the tender has not participated in the registration stage in terms of offering the system it was awarded the tender for, yet this is the critical stage of the elections. The question then is, why pay E12 million for a service that has not been rendered?” he asked.
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