“Tell us everything about how you set up the e-tablets deal.” That’s the precondition the State Information Technology Agency has put before the Eastern Cape Department of Education to settle out of court their dispute over the R538m e-learning tablet leasing contract.
Sita executive caretaker Luvuyo Keyise said on Tuesday the agency had been in talks with the EC education department since November 2020 to reach an out-of-court settlement, but the department had repeatedly stalled over Sita’s requirement that it tell all.
Sita wanted the department to make a “full disclosure ... of anything related to this contract” with service provider Sizwe Africa Group, mainly to determine what was already paid and what is still outstanding for the services rendered.
But it also wanted law enforcement agencies to be in a position to determine what further steps to take.
The agency’s comments came almost two months after an education department application for leave to appeal an October 2020 interdict ruling, preventing it from further implementation of the e-tablets contract, was dismissed in the Bhisho high court.
Judge Buyiswa Majiki on April 1 dismissed with costs the provincial education department and Sizwe Africa Group’s application to appeal the October 2020 interdict she awarded to the Sita.
She made no order on the department’s further application that she suspend the interdict pending the completion of appeal processes.
The interdict stopped the further processing of the e-tablet deal — involving 55,000 tablets and related equipment to matriculants, and 72,000 sim cards to matriculants and educators — pending a high court review of the awarding of the contract.
The judgment on leave to appeal was circulated to the parties last month but was only made available to DispatchLIVE this week by one of the parties.
It effectively triggered the second, review, part of Sita’s initial application to the high court, with Majiki directing that, if they are advised, they should approach the court registrar for an expedited date for the hearing.
But Keyise said Sita was in no hurry to go back to court. The agency had been “willing from day one” to settle the high court wrangle.
“Since at least November last year, I have been personally in the EC for meetings to find an amicable solution to this matter,” he said.
However, there had to be fair value assessment of what was already delivered through the contract, and what obligations Sita would be taking over, along with the financial implications of such obligations.
And, “going forward, we must start a new transparent, open, objective procurement process. It’s about being a responsible citizen, a responsible state entity. We all work for government”.
Majiki found that her interim interdict was not appealable and, even if it were appealed, “would not have prospects for success”.
She acknowledged the harm caused to pupils and to Sizwe, if leave to appeal was not granted. Sizwe had argued that the interdict would have detrimental consequences for its business and financial wellbeing.
But Majiki said it could hardly be argued that pupils’ right to education was infringed by interdicting a contract for the use of a device — “an additional measure to support the learners” and whose implementation “was not even fully achieved”.
Among the key issues which the review court will be required to assess, is whether or not Sita “deviation circulars” allowed the department of education to lump its R538m contract with a R6m contract between Sizwe and the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.
Sita’s position is that the underlying piggybacking transaction contravenes the legislation regulating its work — the procurement of information technology equipment and services — and Treasury regulations.
Education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima was unable to respond to requests for comment by the time of writing, as he was attending to another matter.
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