Cape Town, January 26, 2000
The Democratic Party has made spurious claims on alleged irregularities and implied impropriety in the contract entered into between the South African Post Office and the consortium of New Zealand Post International and Royal Mail for the Strategic Management Partnership to restructure and turnaround the post office.
Most of the claims are based on confidential bid documents and initial negotiating positions submitted by the management partner, some of which were not part of the final contract, Minister of Communications, Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said on Wednesday.
"The contract was a result of a lengthy and open process, in which government was advised by reputable firms such as the legal firm Nathan Friedland, and the accounting and auditing firm Price Waterhouse Coopers.
"If the DP’s Mike Waters is suggesting that they gave us highly suspicious and undesirable advice he should prove his allegations", the Minister said.
The claim that the tender procedure was flawed is spurious. The tender followed the normal South African Post Office tender rules. The process itself was a clear, transparent and robust process that was subjected to the scrutiny and approval of the Inter-Ministerial Cabinet Committee on the restructuring of state assets.
At various stages of the SMP process trade unions represented in the Post Office were consulted as well as the Department of Public Enterprises and the Department of Finance.
The claim that secretarial support costs and accommodation costs were additional to the R180 million contract is out rightly false, these costs were part of the contract.
The figure of R1 500 accommodation per day was an initial proposal, which was not accepted and whoever leaked this information is mischievous to the extreme.
Allegations regarding additional consultants and the so-called exclusive supply contract, are completely false, the Post Office management and Board are the final decisions makers on the direction of the business, including sourcing additional expertise and supply of equipment and technology as in any commercially managed company.
It is true that people did start working while waiting for work permits. The process of obtaining permits does take some time, however, there are provision in the Aliens Control Act which make room for interim exemptions under clearly defined set of circumstances.
It is quite clear that whoever, leaked this set of information to the DP was bent on mischief making, as clearly "The initial restructuring of the Post Office has some yielded positive results, such as improved delivery times and substantially reduced mail violation. We are confident that with our new partners we are poised for growth in postal business that will position the company for global competition".
Minister for Communications: Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri Contact person: Mongezi Mgqcebisa (012) 427 8162 or 082 448 0770 Connie Molusi (012) 427 8111 or 082 552 1939