Madonsela probes Home Affairs' R2.4bn IT tender

The report says Madonsela has confirmed that she has appointed a team of investigators to probe the controversial 'Who Am I Online' tender, awarded by Home Affairs to listed IT firm Gijima in 2007. The tender was originally awarded for R1.9bn in 2007, but the cost increased to R4.5bn before it was cancelled by Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in 2010. One of Madonsela's focuses will be whether Gijima CEO Jonas Bogoshi was conflicted when, as chief of strategic services at the State Information Technology Agency, he participated in awarding the tender to Gijima and joined the company less than 12 months later. Gijima is chaired and partly owned by businessman Robert Gumede, a known ANC benefactor. Home Affairs and Gijima reached a settlement last year, in which the value of the tender was reduced to R2.4bn and both parties agreed to bear the financial brunt. Auditor-General Terence Nombembe revealed last week that Home Affairs wrote off R321m as unauthorised expenditure due to the Gijima settlement. Full City Press report

A private security company - run from a township community hall - has, meanwhile, landed a tender worth nearly R1m to guard a major government building occupied by the police in Cape Town. The Times reports that now the Special Investigating Unit is probing how Eyamathongo Security Services got the contract despite allegedly not meeting basic tender requirements. In addition, the man running the company, Chris Njele, has yet to receive full accreditation from the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority. SIU spokesperson Marika Muller said they had received a complaint regarding the tender and the manner in which it was awarded. But Njele said Public Works was simply supporting small enterprises. Full report in The Times