The EFF has called for an immediate and thorough audit of all tenders awarded by the State Information Technology Agency (Sita) in the last five years.
This after the Western Cape government, led by the DA, was implicated in an alleged criminal behaviour of R1.2-billion.
According to the forensic analysis by Cliffe Dekker, Hofmeyr Inc., several problems were found in the tender awarding process, one of which was that BNC submitted competing pricing proposals, which needed to have disqualified them.
The report further revealed that only three of the 11 bidders met the criteria, while Dimension Data, a significant bidder, was unjustly eliminated on a technicality.
This report was presented to the National Assembly, and it revealed power abuse, cooperation, and corruption by Western Cape government and Sita officials.
It further detailed four serious irregularities in the awarding of a tender worth R1.2-billion to the company called Blue Networks Consortium (BNC) to provide IT-related services for schools in the Western Cape.
The EFF released a statement on Monday and said the involvement of DA Western Cape government officials who were part of the adjudicating process at Sita unlawfully manipulated the tender process to benefit BNC while sabotaging others.
“Not only did they illegally disqualify a company called Dimension Data, which had met all the requirements, but they also went as far as to interfere with the tender documentation of other non-compliant bidders,” said the statement.
According to the EFF, the DA abused its power and violated tender laws and regulations.
“This scandal is yet another example of how the Western Cape government, under the control of the DA, has become a breeding ground for corrupt officials who collude to defraud the state and steal from the people of South Africa.”
The statement said the case has been reported to the minister of communications, Solly Malatsi. However, he failed to act on the findings of the report.
“Despite being presented with clear evidence of fraud, Malatsi has refused to offer any meaningful response.
“His silence speaks volumes about his complicity in this corruption and raises serious questions about his ability or willingness to hold his colleagues accountable.
“Even more disturbing is the minister’s decision to reinstate the very board members of Sita who were suspended in connection with this fraud.”
The EFF said the DA has proven that it is not different from the ANC when it comes to corruption.
“A marriage of corruption called the Government of National Unity (GNU).”
