Two multimillion-rand contracts ‘irregularly’ entered into by a multinational software company, Systems Applications Products (SAP), and the Department of Water & Sanitation have been nullified by the Special Tribunal, which ordered the company to repay R413m to the department.

The SIU began work in September 2018 and found that no needs analysis was conducted and that there was no budget for the purchase of the SAP licences.

There was also no ‘virement’ or approval of the payments to SAP.

A report on the News24 site notes that the State Information Technology Agency (Sita) was not consulted and, in fact, Sita had advised the department against proceeding with the contract.

The unit said it made ‘disciplinary referrals’ to the department against two senior officials.

Judge Lebogang Modiba declared both contracts constitutionally invalid and set them aside.

A Pretoria News report says the order followed a probe by the SIU, which revealed that the software licence and support agreements had been irregularly concluded by the department and SAP between 2015 and 2016.

Modiba said the department may not use any of the software licensed under the 2015 and 2016 licence agreements.

She further ordered SAP to repay the department the R413m, representing the total amount received pursuant to the 2015 and 2016 licence agreements.

She did not issue an order with regard to the costs of the review application.

Modiba also ordered SAP to pay an amount of R263 282 174 to the department within five days of the date of the order ‘with any remainder to be paid after the Special Tribunal’s determination of whether any further amount should be deducted from the amount due’.

Full Pretoria News report

Full report on the News24 site