Bidders report fault on Telkom's tender line

A group of bidders on Friday sent a letter to Telkom, demanding clarity on the status of a five- year tender, worth R1.2-billion a year, that was meant to have been signed by March last year.

Documents outline several complaints, including that Telkom failed to follow correct procedures in a tender that was published at the beginning of 2007.

In January 2007, Telkom issued Tender RFP0101/2007 for network provisioning construction services across the country.

On December 12, the parastatal closed the proposal and began reviewing applications. As part of the proposal, Telkom needed to sign a commercial agreement within 120 days or all applications would be invalid.

Marco Martini, an attorney representing the disgruntled bidders, said that the period had expired and that Telkom was being evasive about the status of the tender, and that it was unwilling to notify applicants about their success or lack thereof.

“Our clients advise that requests had been made enquiring as to whether the tender was awarded and on each occasion were advised that (Telkom's) offices would revert,” Martini said in a letter to Telkom.

In December 2008, a year after the closure of the proposal, Telkom responded to Martini saying that it was still reviewing applications, even though the initial validity period had long expired.

“They also said that they were in talks with certain parties, which is unfair,” Martini said. “If they are considering tenders they should invite us all, not some applicants. If they've closed the process, they need to let us know — which they haven't.”

Winner already chosen?

One of the applicants, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Telkom had already chosen the intended winner before the tender was published.

A consortium comprising Plessey and Hezeki Contracting was named by several sources, including a former executive and a former Telkom contractor, as the intended winner.

The unsuccessful applicant said that Plessey had called some of the smaller bidders before the initial announcements, offering them sub-contracting opportunities.

“The whole process was handled very badly. Greg Nefdt, a former member of Telkom's tender committee, joined Hezeki as chief operating officer shortly before the tender was announced,” Martini said.

Percy Scholtz, CEO of Plessey, and September are very close associates, according to the applicant.

Peter Nel, Plessey's chief executive, was also said to be close to Marius Mostert, the recently ousted group executive for network provisioning.

These personal ties were said to be the basis for Telkom's decision, but the company has been reluctant to cancel the tender or announce any successful bidders.

Telkom spokesman Ajith Bridgraj denied knowledge of any misconduct.

He said: “Telkom originally had 40 suppliers. In the interest of cost efficiency, the company had to standardise economies of scale. This process resulted in six bidders for Tender RFP 0101/2007.

“No one person can influence the outcome of any tender. Telkom is currently reviewing the process and has to date, not entered into any formal agreement with any of these preferred bidders,” Bridgraj added.

Source: Sunday Times

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