Johannesburg, South Africa
SARS DISBANDS TENDER PANEL AFTER CORRUPTION CHARGES
A panel adjudicating a R100-million contract for the supply of information technology to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has been disbanded because of attempts to influence the tender process, Sars said on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Sechaba Nkosi said a source outside of Sars had attempted to influence the outcome of the tender for hardware to the value of more than R100-million.
A new tender panel would be appointed, but the identities of those serving on it would not be revealed for security reasons, Nkosi said.
The tender is expected to be awarded before the end of October.
The attempted interference was discovered by Sars’s information technology division and further investigations were under way, Nkosi said.
The tenderers have been briefed on this development and asked to assist Sars in ensuring the highest level of ethical conduct in its interaction with Sars personnel.
He added that any businesses that wittingly or unwittingly interfered with, or unfairly influenced legitimate procurement processes within Sars, would immediately be blacklisted.
Revenue service chief executive Ken Jarvis said: ”The integrity of Sars in all its dealings with suppliers must be of the highest standard. We are after all spending the public’s money. If we find any Sars employees on the wrong side of the fence, we will take the strongest possible action against them.” — Sapa