JSE-listed IT company Business Connexion (BCX) has responded to reports in the Sunday Independent, saying it is not aware that minister of water affairs Edna Molewa and her public service and administration counterpart Lindiwe Sisulu are involved in a dispute over its contract with the Department of Water Affairs.
According to the newspaper, Molewa awarded a R419 million IT tender to BCX, without following proper procedures. The tender was awarded as the department's extended contract with T-Systems was nearing an end.
According to the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) Amendment Act, all state departments have to procure their IT services through the agency. The agency falls under the auspices of the Department of Public Service and Administration, with Sisulu as the political head.
The newspaper reported that Molewa took matters into her own hands after she was allegedly frustrated by SITA's "incompetence" and "delays" in obtaining the IT services for her department.
Molewa then wrote a letter to Sisulu informing her of the decision not to procure IT services through SITA. The dispute ensued after Sisulu responded to the letter, reminding Molewa of her responsibilities and the legal implications of her decision.
Intervention
Auditor-general Terence Nombembe was subsequently asked to intervene in the matter, with Molewa refusing to co-operate and accusing the AG of interfering and undermining her authority.
The dispute was further aggravated after water affairs director-general Maxwell Sirenya sided with Sisulu and refused to sign off on the contract, citing Sisulu's legal concerns.
Sirenya reported Molewa to the Public Protector, the National Treasury and the Presidency, and lodged a grievance procedure with the Public Service Commission, after their working relationship took a turn for the worse, with reports of Sirenya being physically removed from his office.
SITA has also called on the auditor-general to investigate the matter.
BCX responds
"The deal came as a result of coordinated efforts with Business Connexion's services, innovation and public sector divisions, and is backed by sound technology that has proven to meet clients' needs accurately and timeously. Business Connexion complied with all the tender specifications before the contract was awarded," says BCX in a statement.
Commenting on the internal spat between Molewa and Sisulu, BCX CEO Benjamin Mophatlane says the company is not aware of the internal politics within the department. "Our focus is on the delivery and successful execution of the mandate stipulated in the contract."
The previous deal with water affairs, inherited by T-Systems SA when it bought arivia.kom, was tainted by the AG's findings that the previous deal, initially with arivia.kom and then T-System SA, overran by R1 billion.
The AG found in 2010 that correct procedures were not followed and no corrective action has yet been taken. Despite the findings, the contract was still in place in September 2010.
The deal, awarded in 2003, was initially worth R180 million, but extensions pushed up the total value to about R1.2 billion. The AG found the department was not able to provide a copy of the signed contract dating back to 2003, and then extended it for an additional 49 months, hugely inflating the value, without following proper procedure.
In addition, in June 2011, a contractor seconded to the department by T-Systems, Pono Senokwane, appeared in court on charges of fraud after allegedly stealing from the department. It is alleged Senokwane had tried to fleece the department out of R12 million in total.
The department has been attempting to recoup the R2.8 million that was allegedly stolen. Senokwane was originally contracted by CSIPER Consulting, a subsidiary of arivia.kom, in March 2009, with a contract extension until July 2010, says T-Systems. T-Systems SA bought arivia.kom in January 2010.
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