Telkom clarifies tender process
Telkom today issued a press statement in which it aims to ‘clarify certain matters raised in a report by a Sunday newspaper’. According to the Business Times “Telkom CEO Reuben September has come under fire for pushing through a multibillion-rand tender despite it being shrouded in controversy and claims of corruption.”
The Business Times article alleges that a R 2billion tender for a point-to-point microwave system, which was awarded to Telsaf Data and Ericsson, has caused a furore among Telkom workers, union bosses and managers who sat on the procurement sub-committees.
Telkom responds
Telkom however says that the tender process was extremely stringent and that there was nothing untoward with awarding the contract.
For the sake of completeness we publish the press statement in full:
“Telkom finds it necessary to clarify certain matters raised in a report by a Sunday newspaper. The unfounded allegations concerning claims indicating a flawed procurement process and the alteration of documents in favour of the successful bidder are refuted by the Company. The tender, put out by Telkom, was for the provision of a critical system to supply end-to-end solutions for point-to-point split mount radio equipment.
Telkom’s tender processes are extremely stringent. The decision to award the tender to Ericsson and Telsaf Data was discussed and carefully considered by the Company’s Executive Committee (Exco) after a recommendation by the Company’s Procurement Review Council (PRC).
Telkom follows a procurement process that involves participation by cross-functional teams in order to prevent unilateral decision-making. The procurement process for this bid involved recommendations from various procurement committees. In the best interests of the Company, the Executive Committee decided that the successful bidder would best be able to provide the technical equipment required.
The unsuccessful bidder, Maredi Telecommunications and Broadcasting (Pty) Ltd, achieved unsatisfactory scores in certain critical categories of the tender and, as such, they were disqualified. “
Telkom has of late been making tremendous strides in the execution of its strategy and is particularly proud of its compliance to King 2 and Sarbanes-Oxley governance procedures.
Telkom tender process discussion
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