Mpumalanga premier Mandla Ndlovu says the procurement process followed by the department of education to acquire 22 laptops was riddled with misrepresentation, noncompliance with procurement laws and possible fraud.
Ndlovu released the investigation findings into the procurement of laptops by the department at an inflated price of R91,482 each.
He instituted the investigation at the beginning of April, after being alerted to the matter by a whistle-blower as early as February 15.
Among other aspects, the investigation focused on whether the procurement processes followed for the acquisition complied with applicable prescripts, such as the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) Regulations and whether the department tested the market to determine if the goods provided offered value for money.
Ndlovu found that the procurement was materially flawed, in that it did not comply with section 217 of the constitution, along with sections 38 and 45 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), as the process failed to meet the required standards of fairness, equity, transparency, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness.
He added the supplier also did not comply with the terms of the purchase order and delivered laptops of a lesser quality than what was approved and paid for.
“The departmental officials irregularly specified the brand they required instead of the functionality, resulting in only specific suppliers responding to the issued request for quotations (RFQ),” he said.
He said the officials irregularly invited bids from a particular brand of suppliers and within the limited locality of Mbombela though it was required that they expand the scope to suppliers of all brands provincially.
“The department accepted delivery of laptops not per the specification. The initial specifications were varied without a proper process and by an official not duly authorised. The conditions specified by the bid adjudication committee to negotiate the price before the order being issued were not adhered to. Then the department procured laptops of similar specifications, which could have been procured for a lesser amount had due diligence been applied.”
The investigation also found that the process involved misrepresentation and possible fraud as the supplier misrepresented to the department that it supplied the goods as per the award when it knew that the laptops supplied were not per the specifications.
He also found that officials in the department repeatedly misrepresented key aspects of the procurement process. They falsely claimed that proper procedures had been followed, that the goods delivered matched the approved specifications, and that the amount paid was accurate and justified — even though the laptops delivered were of inferior quality to those ordered. Further, they misrepresented that the technical specifications used were based on current user requirements, when in reality, they relied on outdated specifications developed two years prior, which had not been reviewed or updated for the current procurement.
He further found evidence of gross dishonesty by certain department officials. Some officials were found to have conducted an internal investigation into a matter in which they themselves were implicated, while failing to fully disclose their involvement and also provided false information and misled both the premier and the MEC with inaccurate accounts of the procurement process.
Ndlovu said, the service provider also acted dishonestly in an attempt to conceal its failure to meet the agreed specifications. Notably, the department had appointed this service provider to deliver 22 Dell XPS 15 laptops at R91,482.50 each and one HP printer at R8,269.45, amounting to a total of R2,020,883.45, which also included accessories such as wireless mice and laptop bags.
He said they intend to immediately recover any financial losses incurred by the department as a result of the procurement of the laptops from the service provider. Additionally, they plan to initiate the process of blacklisting the service provider on the National/Provincial Treasury Register for Tender Defaulters and report the matter to SITA.
He recommended that disciplinary action be instituted against all implicated officials, including the HOD, per the relevant prescripts, such as the Public Service Act, the Public Service Regulations, the Public Finance Management Act and Senior Management Handbook. He also proposed conducting lifestyle reviews on all officials named in the report, which may lead to lifestyle audits, in line with the applicable regulations.
Ndlovu also recommended that any possible criminal acts, including but not limited to collusion, bribery, corruption, fraud, and financial misconduct under the Public Finance Management Act and Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act be reported to the police.
TimesLIVE
https://www.timeslive.co.za/authors/shonisani-tshikalange/
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