The recent government announcement and impending handing over of Dell computers to teachers is one that is now a cause for concern. The teachers unknowingly have been used to milk the system it seems. Space95 was selected by Government without going through normal tender procedures to bring in the notebooks. The original owners of this company are people very close to this Government, the likes of Francis Chang-Leng and Hendricks Gappy. Their names no longer feature on the shareholders list.
Government is known to have paid for the entire batch of computers in foreign exchange, so where did the forex come from? Which department did the budget for these computers come from, or was it straight from the Central Bank? Or Barclays Bank? If it was indeed Barclays Bank which provided the funds, it would be interesting to get a statement from them to find out how Space95 jumped the queue when so many businesses have money in the pipeline and is waiting their turn to get foreign exchange.
The Government has stated that it is subsidizing the computers – how much did a computer really cost the Governmentt? It is estimated that 1500 computers in total will eventually be imported into the country – at an average of SR 3,000 per piece making SR 4.5 million rupees in bulk. How many companies in
The teachers in whose names this transaction has been conducted are demanding some explanation – like how much did the Government actually paid Space95 per computer. The foreign exchange element of the deal is also under scrutiny. Where did the funds really come from? 1500 computers at an average of $600 (CIF) come to $900,000. This is being done when there are no medicines in the cabinets at the hospitals and clinics. We are not begrudging the teachers – we feel that the teachers could have been given the money be it in forex as an allowance with which to purchase a computer of their choice from a company of their choosing.
This exercise smells of rotten fish aimed at siphoning money from the coffers of State, lining certain pockets in the process, all in the name of doing something good for the teachers, nurses or whatever the next cause will be. The same was done to our land bank and we have little government land left to sell. Now they have turned their sights on the local economy and finding new ways to divert funds!
Where is the Tender Board? Has this board just disappeared like all the other institutions that are supposed to bring transparency and accountability to