BYLINE: Thabiso Thakali
The Joburg Emergency Management Services paid twice the going price for new generation laptop computers for its managers from a now defunct information technology firm, Masana Technologies, the Saturday Star can |reveal.
According to internal documents which the Saturday Star has seen, EMS ordered six Defcon Latitude XT Tablet laptops from Masana Technologies at the highly inflated price of R38 103.38 each, totalling a net value of R228 620.28.
Masana Technologies was once tasked with putting Operation Phakama - an information technology system controlling revenue and billing - in place to improve Joburg's billing service.
The company was also in charge of a failed multimillion-rand internet provision to libraries project, in which more than R5.6 million had been paid to the company when it folded.
It was placed under liquidation a year ago after it claimed the City of Joburg owed it R90m in unpaid debts.
In total, the company was paid R265 636.33 net value for supplying EMS with the six laptops, including their locks, laptop bags, memory keys and scroll mouse.
Masana was one of the vendors listed in the EMS supply chain management database as a supplier of goods and services.
The Saturday Star was able to get quotations of comparable new generation laptops for almost half the price this week from various retailers.
In one instance a multinational retailer selling computers and IT software quoted R19 220 a unit for the exact item.
And a sales executive at another retailer told the Saturday Star six units of the Latitude XT tablet could be sold at a cost of R144 900.
Highly placed sources in the city told the Saturday Star this week that the huge price differences highlighted the failure by EMS management to keep check on the budget.
"The EMS is in shambles when it comes to supply chain management processes," said one source. "It's a free-for-all situation where looting takes place unchecked. There is no accountability, and rules regulating procurement procedures are constantly flouted."
In another damaging revelation painting a murky picture of procurement processes in the EMS, Joburg city manager Mavela Dlamini wrote a scathing letter to EMS head Audrey Gule warning about continued contravention of procurement procedures.
The warning came after several payments made to a consultancy firm, Mpongele Consultancy, were deemed to be in contravention of the city's supply chain management policy.
Mpongele has a consultant, whose name is known to the Saturday Star, working for EMS as head of commercial training at a cost of almost R30 000 a month. The position is regarded as temporary, although the consultant has occupied it for almost two years. The policy on temporary positions, however, states that the maximum acting period as six months.
Mpongele's contract with EMS was recently extended by six months and further payments for April, May and June raised the ire of the city manager after they were allegedly authorised without following due process.
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