There is no end in sight as yet for the controversial Department of Home Affairs (DHA) biometrics tender, as the parliamentary committee on home affairs on Friday deferred the matter to a later date after power cuts disrupted a crucial meeting.
The committee was due to receive an update on the execution of the project, which has stalled for over three years, but some members could not join the virtual meeting, including key staff from the department.
The planned session with the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs was to hear from the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, which had been invited to attend the session where the DHA was to brief the committee on the way forward.
SITA handled the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) on behalf of the DHA in 2017, but the 2018/19 financial audit found the tender was awarded irregularly to EOH Mthombo.
During the annual audit of SITA, the auditor-general flagged the contract as potentially irregular because of suspected collusion in the bidding process, and the fact that the tender master file could not be found.
Implementation of ABIS was delayed as a result of the missing master files in the ABIS contract and a forensic audit has since been concluded.
On Friday, committee chairman Bongani Bongo said some committee members failed to participate in the meeting due to load-shedding and the matter was deferred to a later date.
French connection
The DHA has been battling to rescue the long-awaited ABIS project, and last week, reportedly received confirmation from National Treasury to cede the contract to French multinational technology company IDEMIA.
According to the department, EOH recommended the work be ceded to IDEMIA, a decision that has seemingly received Treasury’s backing.
The recommendation has not been well received in some quarters, with questions being asked why a subcontractor that was part of a consortium that failed to deliver the ABIS on time should be the one to take over.
The system was supposed to be up and running after 12 months but is now late. IDEMIA was a subcontractor working with EOH in the period when project timelines were missed.
The bid was awarded in November 2017, therefore should have been completed in November 2018. However, three years and three months later, the project is still incomplete.
IDEMIA’s empowerment credentials as per the tender requirements have also been flagged as a concern because it’s a French-headquartered business.
Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi previously denied the company was favoured ahead of other local firms.
Organisations that missed out on the original bid are alleging "apparent bias" in the decision.
Three companies − NEC Africa, Accenture SA and Ernst & Young Advisory Services − missed out on the bid to EOH.
Legislation appreciated
Responding to ITWeb on Friday, Tlali Tlali, head of corporate services at SITA, could not be drawn to comment directly as to when exactly the agency received instructions to cede the contract.
“It would be inappropriate, unprofessional and discourteous to discuss in the media at this stage, the details around this project. We know and understand our obligations towards Parliament and continue to accord Parliament the respect it deserves,” said Tlali.
“Should the need arise to do so once the committee has been briefed, SITA will consider commenting on matters that relate to this project, provided they fall within our purview and based on the role we played in the project.
“We run an accountable agency of the State that is committed to serving our customers and the people of South Africa the best way possible to extract value for money in accordance with policy and the law.”
In his presentation to the portfolio committee last November, Motsoaledi revealed that out of the R400 million contract, R224 million had already been spent on services, infrastructure and software.
The budget still available for the project is R129 million.
The minister added that legal opinion obtained by the DHA suggested that ceding is permissible subject to certain requirements being met.
Siya Qoza, the minister’s spokesperson, would also not be drawn to answer direct questions regarding the forensic investigation on the tender as well the subsequent cessation of the project.
"The department intends to finalise the implementation of the ABIS project once all processes and negotiations have been concluded." he said.
IDEMIA previously declined to be drawn to comment on other matters pertaining to the contract, referring ITWeb back to the department.
Share