The successful completion of the first phase of the enterprise content management (ECM) solution project for the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) ahead of time should silence critics of the black-owned and managed information and communication technology (ICT) company, VALOR it.
When Midrand-based VALOR it won the R153 million tender just over a year ago, a storm of controversy erupted, with questions being asked about why a small company whose bid was considerably higher than its competitors, was awarded the tender by CIPRO - a member of the Department of Trade and Industry group. Questions of kickbacks were raised.
However, chairperson Josias Molele stood firm, saying the tender had been won squarely and that VALOR it has what it takes to deliver. Consequently, a forensic audit was undertaken by the Auditor-General's office, and while his findings identified certain deficiencies within CIPRO during the procurement process, says Molele, no evidence of wrongdoing on VALOR it or its part was uncovered. The company sought additional legal advice on the AG's findings, and this report, released in February, states: “There is no basis for any unjustified interference with the tender awarded to VALOR it.”
However, despite these findings and the fact that the tender is almost 60% complete, Molele since has learnt that the Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies has appointed a specialised security company, Specialised Services Group (SGG), to lead another investigation into VALOR it. SGG apparently is being supported by two prosecutors from theNational Prosecuting Authority.
While Molele says he has no problem with the investigation itself, he is upset that he was not officially informed thereof, but learnt of the development through SMSes apparently circulating among CIPRO officials, and which had been brought to his attention. On 4 March, a letter raising concern about this and other issues was sent by VALOR it to the minister.
Molele contends that much of the negativity which has been directed at VALOR it has less to do with the company itself and more to do with in-fighting at CIPRO relating to transformation opposition. Meanwhile, judgement is expected soon in the court case in which former VALOR it consultant Abe Mbulawa, through Mantra Consulting, is claiming that VALOR it failed to pay its consultancy fees in full and that the company is passing off Mantra's work as its own.
Molele says that Mantra wanted to drop the latter case, but VALOR it deserves its day in court and he had insisted the company be given an opportunity to clear its name legally. He is confident that VALOR it will win the case. Despite these ongoing battles, VALOR it has been able to focus on the job at hand. The enterprise content management (ECM) implementation began on 9 February 2009, and a number of milestones have been reached, says Molele.
The first, in June, was the development of the eCIPRO Blueprint, which provided clarity at an executive level on the ECM journey being undertaken. Molele says the service-oriented architecture being used will transform the way in which CIPRO does business, to transform it into a completely e-focused organisation.
A number of sub-projects were identified as quick wins. These include the CIPRO public website based on modern portal technologies, as well as a new intranet portal. Both are ready for implementation.
An organisational File Plan and Disposal Authority also have been developed, and signed off by the National Archives of South Africa as being compliant with the National Archives Act.“This deliverable is a key achievement, as it creates a solid platform for the proper implementation of the ECM, especially the design and development of the document repositories, both physical and electronic,” explains Molele. In addition, CIPRO Business decided to have the project implementation team develop a solution to manage the registration of co-operatives and their total life cycle, based on the Co-operatives Act and other legislative mandates.
The VALOR it team has achieved the development of business processes, user interfaces, electronic forms, a file plan, security, change management quality assurance communication and marketing, enterprise search technology, programme and project management, data migration, solution components integration, transactional management, and lastly, a contact centre solution is under development.“ The target date for the quick wins and co-operatives solutions to 'go live' is the 31 March,” says Molele, adding that the project team remains adequately resourced and that the status of the project “is healthy”.
He says that at the beginning of March, an investigation was done by the client to look at 'deliverables and milestones to date versus invoices' and in that VALOR it fared very well. “They were amazed at the level of expertise and the intelligent products we are using.”Molele adds, however, that in mid-March, CIPRO was trying still to “sort out infrastructure and data cleansing issues, saying that CIPRO was yet to get the agreed-upon compatible software up and running.“ Once CIPRO has put the necessary systems in place and has done stress tests, we will be ready to go live,” Molele says.
Molele is proud of his team, saying that they are a group of enthusiastic people who are real go-getters. They have been able to forge ahead despite the external negative influences. “We are still winning tenders,” says Molele, the most recent being an information technology and telecommunications service contract with the Nkomazi Local Authority in Mpumalanga. VALOR it was started in 2005 with little more than a dream.
Molele, who is married and a father to four children, is the founder of the Shekinah Glory International Ministries, which currently has 14 branches. Molele's advice to other entrepreneurs. “Be innovative, listen carefully to what the client wants, predict and prepare for future trends, and even if you are a technocrat, look for information technology solutions from a business perspective,” Even before winning the CIPRO contract, Valor IT was making its mark, winning a R118-million Department of Home Affairs tender for an electronic document management system (not yet implemented), an e-Learning platform for PALAMA for R1.2-million initially and a R6.8-million tender from the Department of Transport in the North West for an e-filing solution. These are just some of the projects won by VALOR it.
Looking ahead, VALOR it hopes to increase its national footprint, build in-house capacity, strengthen relationships with vendors, increase revenue and finish projects properly, specifically that of CIPRO. “If this is done, it will provide a springboard to national and even international markets,” says Molele, adding that VALOR it has met with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) officials in Geneva, who have confirmed that “[South Africa] will be one of the first countries to implement the kind of ECM that VALOR it is developing for CIPRO”. WIPO is a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property system.“ Ours must be a model for how things are done,” concludes Molele.
Share