A tender worth about R1.5 billion, to replace data and voice networks within the South African Revenue Service (SARS), which was to be awarded earlier this year, has been officially cancelled.
The seven short-listed bidders were informed yesterday that the current tender has been scrapped, but that a new tender would be issued within the next 10 weeks.
"SARS did not award the voice and data networks replacement tender, because it was unable to make a value for money determination," says spokesperson Adrian Lackay.
Logan Wort, GM for communications at SARS, explains that the bid submissions were extremely varied in terms of design and costing, making it difficult for SARS to accurately compare and select the best one.
He says the new tender will have a narrower design scope, in an effort to attract more similar tenders that can be evaluated against one another with greater accuracy.
The tender cancellation has fuelled suspicions that the entrance of Barry Hore, as acting CIO (replacing Ken Jarvis), has caused a reorganisation of all projects. There is also industry speculation that two other large tenders, currently in the evaluation phase, with a combined value of about R2.5 billion, will also be sent back to the drawing board.
However, Wort has refused to link the tender cancellation with the appointment of the new acting CIO.
Disappointed
ITWeb has learnt from various sources that five of the seven short-listed bidders are Dimension Data, Business Connexion, GijimaAst, IBM and T-Systems.
GijimaAst CEO John Miller says his company invested over R1 million in bidding for the tender, with about 16 people involved in the bid submission.
"We are disappointed - we put a lot of work into this tender submission," says Miller.
He adds that GijimaAst will definitely bid for the new tender. "SARS is a very prestigious account - we believe we can offer a good solution."
Miller confirms original estimates that the tender is worth over R1.5 billion.
Bidding costs
Business Connexion CEO Peter Watt offered a similar response. "We're very disappointed - we put a huge effort into this, and when you consider the costs, it was an expensive exercise."
A team of about 20 senior-level staff worked for two months on the bid, he notes. The direct costs of bidding add up to more than R1 million in salaries alone, he adds.
Watt believes the changeover in the CIO's office "played a role" in the tender reconsideration, but cautions that this does not imply any backward steps. He also confirms BCX will bid again for the new tender.
Alan Cawood, CEO of the African region for Dimension Data, says the company will submit a bid for the new tender when it is issued.
Although he declines to put a number to DiData's investment in its original submission, he says: "It was a complex bid - but we respect SARS's decision yesterday, and we await the next tender with baited breath."
No refund
Wort says SARS regrets the tender has been scrapped, but denies the cancellation should be seen as a waste of time and money.
Instead, Wort believes that making a wrong decision would potentially have been a far greater waste of resources for SARS.
But SARS will not reimburse the costs incurred by the companies during bidding for the original tender. "We are not discussing a refund; that is unfortunately not the normal course of action.
"For SARS, a new replacement network is urgent - we need to increase the capacity of our network," notes Wort.
He explains that, for instance, the new e-filing system allowing people to file tax returns online has seen over 11 000 visitors in the first two weeks of availability.
In an official statement, SARS notes the tender calls for the provision of:
* The design, building and running of a converged communications network solution, servicing voice, data and video;
* Desktop support;
* Server support; and
* A service management centre, or service aggregator.
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