A tech company contracted to supply high-end laptops to the Mpumalanga Department of Education has been accused of delivering substandard equipment and grossly inflating prices, triggering a recall of the devices and a demand for a refund.
Sunday World can reveal that BoTau Technologies was paid R2,012,615 by the department for 22 Dell XPS 15 laptops.
However, the company delivered Dell XPS 13 models — cheaper and less powerful versions— despite clear specifications in the tender documents.
Laptops are of cheaper, poor quality
The department has since demanded that BoTau collect the laptops and replace them with the correct versions. It has also demanded a refund of R543,479, believed to have been overcharged.
According to documents submitted to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and seen by Sunday World, the department admitted it received incorrect products, and is now scrambling to correct the error.
“On 25 February 2025, the department received a letter from the service provider indicating that the laptops delivered were not in line with the specification,” it told Scopa.
“In response, the [HOD] instructed the service provider to retrieve the 22 Dell XPS 13 laptops that were delivered and replace them…with the correctly specified laptops, as initially agreed upon.”
The original procurement, signed off by Head of Department (HOD) Lucy Moyane in September 2024, included 22 Dell XPS 15 laptops and HP OfficeJet 250C Mobile All-In-One Printers, priced at R8,258.45 each.
Tech firm says the expected laptops were discontinued
The deal, advertised in August, was awarded to BoTau Technologies. It then sourced the laptops from distributors Pinnacle and Tarsus.
In a letter dated February 24, BoTau director Lassy Mahole admitted the laptops were not what was ordered. He claimed that the XPS 15 model had been discontinued.
“I would like to ask the Department of Education to give a go ahead to upgrade the SSD from 1TB to 4TB. This is because the price of Dell XPS 13 is less than the ones the company quoted to the department,” he wrote.
“The money [that] was paid to the company in excess is still available to upgrade the laptops. Or alternatively, the money that was paid by the department may be repaid to the department in two months’ instalments.”
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a faster and more reliable data storage device than a traditional hard drive. The 1TB (terabyte) and 4TB refer to storage capacity — the higher the number, the more data a computer can hold.
Demand for refund
A March 3 letter from Moyane warned that failure to supply the correct equipment would result in a demand for full repayment.
An internal audit showed that the laptops delivered were priced at R39,100 each. Each cost a total of R44,965 with VAT — far below what the department paid.
Attempts to obtain comment from Mahole were unfruitful. His phone rang unanswered, while he is yet to respond to a media enquiry sent by email.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling for immediate consequences.
“It really looks and sounds suspicious to the DA that the department and its procurement officials, including HOD Lucy Moyane, agreed to pay BoTau Technologies over R2-million for laptops that the supplier quoted for less,” said Annerie Weber, DA MPL and provincial spokesperson on education.
Weber accused the department of financial mismanagement and called for Moyane’s removal.
DA demands heads to roll, HOD goes on leave
“…The DA also demands that BoTau Technologies be red-listed and deleted from the Provincial Database. This penalty is for overcharging the department exorbitant amounts for just 22 laptops,” she said.
The party has also called on the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to intervene. It wants the SIU to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.
Moyane is currently on a month-long leave of absence. The provincial government insists it is ordinary annual leave. But her exit — just hours after Premier Mandla Ndlovu announced that an investigation was underway — has raised concerns.
Ndlovu has confirmed that the probe is led by his office’s Integrity Management Unit. It was prompted by questions from President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.
He is expected to release the full investigation report on Friday.
