Following an investigation by the Mpumalanga provincial government, the premier, Mandla Ndlovu, has promised that heads are going to roll in the scandal involving the irregular procurement by the provincial department of basic education of 22 Dell XPS laptops at the inflated cost of R91 482.50 per unit.

The order cost the department more than R2-million.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, Ndlovu said basic education department officials implicated in the scandal, whom he did not name, acted in a “grossly dishonest” manner by conducting an investigation into the very matter in which they are implicated.

“They failed to make full disclosure of their involvement and provided incorrect information. They also misled the premier and the MEC by providing inaccurate information during the investigation,” Ndlovu said at the briefing. “We intend to institute disciplinary actions against all implicated officials, including the head of department.”

TechCentral reported last month that the State IT Agency (Sita) had echoed calls for an investigation into the laptops scandal. Sita said there were “a lot of unanswered questions” regarding the procurement procedures followed in acquiring the laptops, whose inflated cost Sita described as “outrageously exorbitant”.

According to Ndlovu, the matter was brought to his attention by a whistle-blower on 15 February. He said the officials implicated in the matter included those who approved the procurement as well as those who are members of the committees which handled the procurement.

Implicated

Other indictments include how officials invited bids for a specific brand from a limited set of suppliers within the Mbombela region, despite procurement procedures stipulating that the scope should have been provincial. The specifications of the laptops were found to have been drawn up without following proper process, and laptops of with similar specifications “could have been procured for a lesser amount had due diligence been applied”.

The service provider implicated in the matter, who has not been named, was also found to also have acted dishonestly by delivering laptops that were not to the specification agreed to and paid for by the basic education department. According to Ndlovu, the specification requested for high-end Dell XPS 15 laptops but the units ultimately delivered included 20 XPS 13 machines and two XPS 14 computers.

Read: R90 000 laptops scandal: Sita calls for urgent probe

The prior generation XPS 13 and XPS 14 are cheaper than the XPS 15s that were originally ordered. Research done by the provincial government found that the XPS 13s retail for R59 200 each. The price includes a 15% markup and 15% VAT. The price paid by the provincial education department represented a premium of R32 282.50 on each laptop. The department aims to recover “any financial losses incurred”.

“The service provider acted in a grossly dishonest manner when attempting to cover up its failure to comply with the agreed specifications,” said Ndlovu.

The premier has commenced processes to have the supplier blacklisted from government and placed on the national and provisional treasury register for tender defaulters and notified Sita to do the same.

Ndlovu said lifestyle audits of all implicated officials will follow, with a governance review of the basic education department also planned. Other than the fraud already uncovered, other acts such as bribery, collusion and financial misconduct that are discovered will result in criminal proceedings, he added.

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