Call to stop internet rollout

BCM’s chamber of commerce has written to the office of the premier demanding that a province-wide multimillionrand broadband rollout contract with Liquid Telecom be terminated.

Last week, the Dispatch reported that the broadband project, which has been at the centre of a legal battle between two state organs, had been ruled “reviewable”.

Bhisho High Court judge John Smith declared that the R220m project, awarded to Liquid Telecom in October 2017, was reviewable because the Eastern Cape government had manoeuvred itself into the contract without the necessary approval from the State Information Technology Agency (Sita).

The contract was for the rollout of broadband services to 2,700 sites across the Eastern Cape.

In his letter, chamber of commerce and industry chief operations officer Malibongwe Mtuzula takes issue with the procurement processes, asking how such a big project was given to one company outside the province, and why the provincial government did not issue a public tender.

The Eastern Cape “piggybacked” on a Western Cape government contract with Liquid Telecom.

“We appeal to all parties involved in this contract to terminate it and re-plan it so that it caters for all willing and able entities in the Eastern Cape without any fight and unreasonable protest marches that would embarrass our leadership at the end,” the letter reads.

Provincial government spokesperson Sonwabo Mbanaga said the office of the premier was reviewing the concerns raised in the letter.

“At the right time we will respond,” he said.

Liquid Telecom's Carrie Daly said the company had noted the court judgement and was willing to work with all stakeholders involved.

“With ethics beyond reproach, Liquid Telecom has to consider the connectivity needs of the people of the Eastern Cape throughout court proceedings, while respecting all legal and contractual requirements,” said Daly.