Trade and industry minister Rob Davies, his department and Cipro have failed the country, and are to blame for the mess in the awarding of the controversial R152.7 million IT contract, says Mantra Consulting CEO Abe Mbulawa.
Mbulawa reacted angrily, in a statement issued late yesterday, to comments Davies made in Parliament this week. Davies said: “Based upon their [the DG's] investigations, there is an untoward pattern of relationship between ValorIT, Mantra and some Cipro staff.”
Mbulawa describes these comments as regrettable. He says that if the minister had made them outside the protection of Parliament, he would have called on him to apologise.
“This statement impinges on the integrity of Mantra Consulting and Abe Mbulawa, in particular. That Mantra Consulting and none of the other subcontractors were not mentioned is puzzling,” Mantra Consulting's statement says.
Mantra Consulting was sub-contracted to ValorIT in the awarding of the controversial enterprise content management (ECM) system. The system is supposed to rejuvenate Cipro's (the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office's) processes. Cipro is the central registry for company information.
Cipro officials have said ECM is necessary, as the current systems are old and cannot adequately cater for all the functions, such as revenue collection, that is expected of the organisation.
ValorIT and Mantra Consulting have since fallen out with each other after the latter alleged ValorIT had not paid it R2.5 million owed in fees. A Gauteng High Court ruled last week in Mantra Consulting's favour and the case is under appeal.
In Mantra's court filings, it cited Cipro and the trade and industry minister as interested parties in the action.
Mbulawa says: “We also note that after launching our summons in the Gauteng South High Court, where the minister was the second interested party, the minister took a decision not to respond. If either the minister or his legal advisers read the founding affidavit, they would have noted that the relationship between Mantra Consulting and ValorIT began with the release of the bid and ended on its award.”
He continues to say: “That just after Mantra Consulting has won its court bid the minister decides to use the public platform to make undue comments is unfortunate.”
Mbulawa also asserts that in April 2009, Mantra copied a letter to Cipro CEO Keith Sendwe advising that the removal of subcontractors who helped formulate the ValorIT proposal would have an adverse effect on the project. This letter was ignored.
He says Cipro's ECM contract board, through its chairman (the CEO) ignored Mantra Consulting's warnings as the matter could have easily been addressed through their agreement with the supplier under “subcontractor governance”.
“As a result, Cipro as an organisation, and the DG [trade and industry director-general Tshediso Matona], who signed off the award, are just as to blame for the current project concerns and recent problems that were widespread in the media; all the blame cannot be apportioned to ValorIT alone, nor Mantra Consulting used as a diversion,” Mbulawa says.
He says Cipro, the custodian of the Companies' Act and a national economic security point, does not have a board of directors, which is a reflection on the leadership of the DTI rather than Cipro's executive management.
“Therefore, before the minster and his team start throwing aspersion at Mantra Consulting, they must reflect at how they have failed Cipro and the nation as a whole. And like any professional organisation, have the courtesy of giving all affected parties an opportunity of reply before making public statements,” Mbulawa comments.
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