DTA questions Telecom tender

A MEMBER of Parliament has raised suspicions about the way a tender to print Namibia’s telephone directory was issued.

The company that was granted the tender apparently submitted two versions of its tender application and was not even registered to pay value-added tax (VAT), which was a tender requirement for the lucrative contract which runs until 2011. Johan de Waal of the DTA last Thursday asked the Minister of Works, Transport and Communication, Joel Kaapanda, whether he was aware that the company TDS Directory Namibia, which was only registered in late 2005, kept its advertising price list like “a state secret”.This prevented customers wanting to advertise in the new directories from making informed decisions on the different options available to them, De Waal claimed.He asked the Minister to distribute the price list of TDS Directory and he also wanted to know whether the annual price increase for advertisements over the next five years would be based on the tender prices submitted to the Telecom Tender Board.”A person (or company) selling a product must ensure that the product is clearly priced and it must be clearly indicated if the price includes or excludes VAT.Is the Minister aware that the company only registered for VAT on February 6, 2007 – some seven months after the closing of the tender, although it was a tender specification that companies applying for it should submit proof of VAT registration?” De Waal asked Kaapanda.He requested the Minister to inform Parliament which of the two tender applications made by the said company was accepted by the Tender Board and to inform MPs what prices were quoted in each application.The opposition MP further alleged that the name of the tenderers and their tendered prices were not released on the opening day of offers.”Instead, tenderers gathered at the opening were told to apply in writing in two weeks’ time and figures of tenderers would then be released to the other bidders.”Will the Minster agree with me that this action by Telecom Namibia grossly contravenes the most basic principle of any tender process anywhere in the world, thus rendering the awarding of this tender null and void? In the light of this gross misconduct will the Minster release the contract between the TDS company and Telecom?” De Waal asked.”Will you instruct Telecom Namibia to cancel Tender TN0047/2006/O and to ensure that those Telecom employees responsible for this chaos pay any cost that might arise from the cancellation?” The DTA leader further wants the Minster to inform the National Assembly how many Namibians were employed fulltime at TDS and how that number compared to the other tenderers.Minister Kaapanda is expected to respond to the questions this Thursday.Telecom Namibia announced the new contract for the telephone directory last September.Telecom did not renew the contract of the previous holder of the tender, African Directory Services (ADS), a local BEE company with Tjombe Ndadi at the helm.Ndadi co-founded and ran NamPrint, a Swapo-owned printing company, after Independence.TDS is to provide complete yellow- and white-pages directory services as well as electronic services and publish the annual phone directory.TDS stands for Telkom Directory Services, and is a subsidiary of South African telecommunications giant Telkom.The tender was awarded to TDS Directory Operations (Pty) Ltd, which was quickly registered in Namibia.A clause in the contract requires TDS Directory Operations (Namibia) to set aside 25 per cent equity to a Namibian Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partner.This has not yet happened.Neither have the criteria for BEE nor the election process been made public.Another company, Durban-based Pelican Investment Seven, was awarded the tender solely for the printing and delivery of the telephone directory for five years.Johan de Waal of the DTA last Thursday asked the Minister of Works, Transport and Communication, Joel Kaapanda, whether he was aware that the company TDS Directory Namibia, which was only registered in late 2005, kept its advertising price list like “a state secret”.This prevented customers wanting to advertise in the new directories from making informed decisions on the different options available to them, De Waal claimed.He asked the Minister to distribute the price list of TDS Directory and he also wanted to know whether the annual price increase for advertisements over the next five years would be based on the tender prices submitted to the Telecom Tender Board.”A person (or company) selling a product must ensure that the product is clearly priced and it must be clearly indicated if the price includes or excludes VAT.Is the Minister aware that the company only registered for VAT on February 6, 2007 – some seven months after the closing of the tender, although it was a tender specification that companies applying for it should submit proof of VAT registration?” De Waal asked Kaapanda.He requested the Minister to inform Parliament which of the two tender applications made by the said company was accepted by the Tender Board and to inform MPs what prices were quoted in each application.The opposition MP further alleged that the name of the tenderers and their tendered prices were not released on the opening day of offers.”Instead, tenderers gathered at the opening were told to apply in writing in two weeks’ time and figures of tenderers would then be released to the other bidders.”Will the Minster agree with me that this action by Telecom Namibia grossly contravenes the most basic principle of any tender process anywhere in the world, thus rendering the awarding of this tender null and void? In the light of this gross misconduct will the Minster release the contract between the TDS company and Telecom?” De Waal asked.”Will you instruct Telecom Namibia to cancel Tender TN0047/2006/O and to ensure that those Telecom employees responsible for this chaos pay any cost that might arise from the cancellation?” The DTA leader further wants the Minster to inform the National Assembly how many Namibians were employed fulltime at TDS and how that number compared to the other tenderers.Minister Kaapanda is expected to respond to the questions this Thursday.Telecom Namibia announced the new contract for the telephone directory last September.Telecom did not renew the contract of the previous holder of the tender, African Directory Services (ADS), a local BEE company with Tjombe Ndadi at the helm.Ndadi co-founded and ran NamPrint, a Swapo-owned printing company, after Independence.TDS is to provide complete yellow- and white-pages directory services as well as electronic services and publish the annual phone directory.TDS stands for Telkom Directory Services, and is a subsidiary of South African telecommunications giant Telkom.The tender was awarded to TDS Directory Operations (Pty) Ltd, which was quickly registered in Namibia.A clause in the contract requires TDS Directory Operations (Namibia) to set aside 25 per cent equity to a Namibian Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partner.This has not yet happened.Neither have the criteria for BEE nor the election process been made public.Another company, Durban-based Pelican Investment Seven, was awarded the tender solely for the printing and delivery of the telephone directory for five years.