Protesters burn tender documents
THE TENDER process for the fiveyear lease of high-speed printing machines to the Department of Education was disrupted after bid documents were set alight outside the department’s offices in Barkly Road.
Angry bidders stated that the tender box was apparently grabbed from officials, doused with petrol and set alight on Friday morning.
“The closing date was Friday and all the bids were destroyed. We don’t know if the tender will be re-advertised. This is not a banana republic – the protesters had no right to burn our documents.”
The secretary of the Northern Cape Progressive Business Forum, Kagiso Nkomo, however, supported the actions of local service providers who felt excluded from this R150 million tender.
“We are behind them 100 percent. Whether they are members of the forum or not, we salute them. The tender process was unfair and excluded local businesses,” said Nkomo.
“We want the tender to be re-advertised and altered so that local businesses can benefit.”
Nkomo believes that the department intended to award the multimillion-rand contract to Xerox.
“The tender was tailor-made to outsource this service to a company that is based outside the Province. The bid with (a local service provider) was cancelled due to incorrect or substandard machines that were supplied. Upon re-advertising this bid, the terms of reference were amended and constricted,” Nkomo claimed.
He argued that local entrepreneurs did not need technical expertise or specialised knowledge to lease out fax or photocopy machines.
“If needed, we can sub-contract to local IT companies to supply printer consumables and provide technical support and maintenance, so that after five years there is a company in the Northern Cape that has the financial and technical capacity to successfully bid for the tender.
“How can we gain capacity for big contracts if we are never afforded an opportunity?
“Government should award contracts locally so that small businesses can create jobs and boost the local economy.”
Spokesperson for the MEC for Education, Geoffrey van der Merwe, confirmed that the tender process was jeopardised on Friday.
“The tender for the high-speed machines was scheduled to close on Friday. However, this process was jeopardised by unruly protesters who gained illegal access and set the tender documents alight. We are analysing the available footage recorded on our surveillance cameras and will lay criminal charges with the SAPS,” said Van der Merwe.
In correspondence with the Northern Cape Progressive Business Forum, the HOD for Education, Tshepo Pharasi, pointed out that this specific tender was “complex and highly technical in terms of the specification requirements”.
He indicated that the department was compelled to adhere to the national norms and standards as prescribed by the national Department of Basic Education.
Pharasi also informed the forum that the department had already advertised and awarded tenders to the value of R30 million to advance preferential procurement and black economic empowerment.
“It may not always be possible to sub-contract in all tenders due to the nature of some tenders.”
He advised that due to tight timelines the department would be going ahead with the tender process.