Telecom sold N$50m dream

BROKE Telecom Namibia has admitted that they heavily relied on presentations and external consultants to buy a malfunctioning billing system for N$50 million.

Although Telecom is still using the problematic billing system, the parastatal’s spokesperson Oiva Angula said a well specified, tested and implemented new billing platform is likely to be in full operation within 24 months.

The admission confirms that the parastatal ignored the advice of in-house experts who warned against acquiring the Kalabash billing system from the Chinese technology giant, Huawei.

The agreement was that Telecom would pay N$100 million when fully implemented but the parastatal had to pay N$50 million after using the system for two years.

Angula confirmed to The Namibian on Wednesday that they were sold a dream by relying on presentations by external advisers.

“The issues identified were an over-reliance on presentations made to the project steering committee and confirmation from the external consultant that proper tests were done before going live, for which Telecom Namibia and Huawei are taking full responsibility,” Angula added.

After being implemented in November 2013, it finally donned on the Telecom Namibia management that Huawei’s Kalabash system does not meet the technical specifications specified when they bid for the tender.

Questions are now being asked why the company’s senior management were so adamant on procuring that particular system.

It was also reported that suspicions have been raised that some of the company’s top management might have received bribes and kickbacks. Last year, Huawei spokesperson Phoebe Huangman denied allegations of bribes and kickbacks saying the company strictly adheres to all laws of the countries in which they operate and to the highest standards of business ethics.

It appears Telecom learnt it the hard way with the controversy surrounding the proposed new system.

The Namibian has also learned that the procurement process of a new billing system was supposed to have started in July but was postponed due to allegations of impropriety by some senior managers who are allegedly trying to manipulate the process to their own benefit.

Angula said the procurement process for the new system has been delayed since hand-picked operators could not accommodate site visits earlier.

“These operators were carefully researched and visited to gain first-hand insight into their approaches, achievements and lessons learnt in implementing a converged billing platform,” he said.

Angula further said the Telecom team that visited the operators was carefully selected to include management and staff, among them technical as well as commercial functionalities. The decision by Telecom to pull the plug on the N$50 million system comes at a time when the government entity is faced with knee-deep financial troubles and is struggling to pay salaries and basic bills.

Telecom Namibia’s debts were about N$1 billion last year. Angula also explained how the parastatal ended up paying close to N$50 million for the system. “Telecom Namibia has spent N$49 860 707 since June 2011 on the project, including consulting fees, initial progress payments, establishment of a fully serviced server room and hardware,” he said.

Angula said the decision to look for an alternative billing engine is based on several factors such as the lack of scalability and flexibility, non-acceptable design architecture, ongoing operational hiccups and unreliability of the system.

The troubles at the telecommunication company come at the time the company is trying to trim its debt.

According to Angula, Telecom’s overall debt will be N$463 million by the end of this month – down from N$986 million in September 2014. “This is an indication of a company that is hard at work regaining its healthy financial status,” he said.

Telecom Namibia sources said the Kalabash system was brought in to replace the Integrated Customer Management System (ICMS) which had become obsolete.

Before the ICMS system, Telecom Namibia bought a system called ISIS which was allegedly removed and done away with three months after it was implemented because it was also malfunctioning.

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