Bain wins Telkom contract ‘without open bidding’
TELKOM awarded a R91.1m advisory contract to Bain last year without following an open bidding process, according to a document seen by Bloomberg News.The March 24 letter, a response by Telkom deputy information officer Anton Klopper to a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, showed there was no record of a published or archived competitive process that led to the selection of Bain, the Boston-based management consulting firm.Firms that have the government as a shareholder should procure goods and services in a process "that is fair, transparent, equitable, competitive and cost effective" to comply with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), said Claire Barclay, a Johannesburg-based lawyer at DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.Telkom, about 40% owned by the state, falls under that category.CEO Sipho Maseko hired Bain to advise on Telkom’s broadband and mobile strategy as he sought to stem years of sliding sales amid shrinking demand for landline services. Bain was picke...
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