Dept defends tablet deal

The Eastern Cape department of education has denied claims that their multimillion-rand tablet contract for e-learning was unjustifiably inflated as the deal resulted in paying only R204 per pupil.

The province and its education department are under fire for signing a R404 million deal with service provider Sizwe Africa IT to lease, over three years, 55 000 Samsung tablets for their pupils instead of buying the devices at a cheaper price.

This was after Sizwe Africa IT received a discounted R133 million from the Eastern Cape education department in May for the procurement and setting up of studios for developing virtual classrooms.

Sizwe Africa IT is a subsidiary of AYO Technology, owned by businessman Iqbal Surve. In total, Sizwe Africa IT received R538 million for the tablets and virtual studios, which the department said saved them R53 million.

The Eastern Cape education department was adamant the contract was all above board. The department’s director of logistics and disposal management, Nandipha Tembo, said it would have cost an extra R13.8 million to buy the tablets.

She added that the benefits of leasing were that an upfront bulk payment was not required, the costs of the leased devices included delivery, installation and maintenance

“We did our market analysis and cost benefit analysis between the two procurement models. We considered the financial resources of the department.

“It is no secret that the department is experiencing constraints in finances.”

According to the presentation by the department, the R404 million covers the costs of the Samsung Galaxy A tablet, the Samsung Knox Security which tracks and traces the device, a screen protector and pouch, the 2Enable App used to access online content, 4GB of data, setup costs, maintenance and delivery.

This would cost the department R204 per month per pupil for three years. Had the department purchased all items, it would have been R418.7 million, Tembo said.

While President Cyril Ramaphosa instructed the Special Investigating Unit on Thursday to investigate and prosecute those who conducted corrupt deals during the pandemic, the Eastern Cape tablet matter was not on their list.

We did our market analysis and cost benefit analysis between the two procurement models.