Court sets aside R1bn ICT contract that SANParks had awarded to Gijima

The Pretoria high court has reviewed and set aside a decision by SA National Parks (SANParks) to award a tender worth close to R1bn to Gijima Holdings for the provision of information and communication technology services for 10 years. 

The court ordered that Datacentrix continue to deliver the services to SANParks for 12 months from the date of judgment on the same terms and conditions as set out in the previous agreement concluded in February 2019. The court said it was just and equitable to remit the matter to SANParks for reconsideration of the tender. 

Datacentrix was the incumbent after bits successful bid in the previous tender GNP-008-18, in February 2019. That tender was to last until April 2024.

Datacentrix brought the review application before the court in April last year after SANParks had awarded the 10-year tender to Gijima. The tender was for the outsourcing of SANParks ICT services, including its network services, telephony services, internet, cloud and cyber security services and the underlying infrastructure that is integral to SANParks business operations within the 22 national parks under its management and control. 

The tender was advertised in September 2023 and was awarded to Gijima in February 2024.

Judge Mandlekosi Motha, in a judgment passed on April 11, described the case as a titanic battle for the SANParks tender, worth just about R1bn.

“Blissfully unaware of this existential threat are the lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceros and cheetahs, to name but a few affected animals. I am convinced that if these animals had a say in the matter, no-one would be before this court,” Motha said. 

In September last year, the Pretoria high court handed down an order dismissing the Datacentrix application for condonation concerning a prayer in its notice of motion, which sought to review and set aside the request for bids relating to the tender.   

The court said last year the review application before it had not been brought within the 180 days regarding the review on the request for bids. 

In the judgment passed this month, Motha said the preliminary point about the application not being brought within 180 days was not dispositive of the entire case because the prayer which sought to review and set aside the decision to award Gijima the tender was made well within 180 days.

The ground of review was that Gijima failed to submit annual financial statements for the June 2022 financial year and submitted only audited financial statements for the two preceding financial years (June 2021 and June 2020).

Datacentrix said Gijima ought therefore to have been disqualified from the tender evaluation process for failure to satisfy the minimum mandatory conditions of tender.

Motha said the common denominator in all the four disqualifications was the entities' failure to comply with the requirement of three years audited or independently reviewed annual financial statements. 

“What is good for the goose is good for the gander. How is it that Gijima was held to a different standard? This is nothing short of disgraceful conduct,” Motha said. 

Motha said the fact that SANParks came to court and insisted that only one audited financial statement was required “stinks to high heavens”.

He said this conduct was totally at variance with the constitutional precepts of fairness and equity. 

He said the decision to award the tender to Gijima was not in keeping with the dictates of the constitution, and it would not be far off the mark to characterise the tender process as being shambolic.

“Ultimately, this entire tender process was not in accordance with a tender process that is fair, equitable, transparent and competitive.”

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