Direct appointment lawful practice – BGCIS
The Minister for State President,Kabo Neale Sechele Morwaeng Has denied any knowledge of a procurement decision at his ministry to directly appoint a company linked to his sister-in law for the supply of news printing reels to the Department of Information Services.
Responding to a question from The Voice this week, Morwaeng said that he was not involved in the awarding of the tender, he does not have any access to tender processes and therefore referred our enquiries to the administration department of his ministry.
“This is an administrative matter, kindly contact the administrators, or the person that wrote the letter,” said the minister when asked to clarify how the decision was reached to award the P4.4 million pula tender to the companies, one of which is owned by his sister -in law.
Reached for comment, the Public Relations Office sent a written response on behalf of the Department of Government Printing and Publishing Services explaining that the award of the tender was done in accordance with the Public Procurement Act and its regulations.
“The Act gives authority to accounting officers to appoint companies directly during the times of emergencies, which was the case when Slight Touch was appointed. There was an emergency which required urgent interventions to manage the risk of not printing and publishing the Botswana Daily News,” said the written response with no name of the author.
The response revealed that the previous tender for the supplier named Bond Free Investments (Pty) Ltd lapsed after being the sole supplier of the printing reel for more than a decade.
The response further said that Just Trading (Pty) Ltd did not bid.
Meanwhile, a letter written and signed by Kelebogile Boikanyo on 29th August 2024 to announce the direct appointment of Slight Touch (Pty) Ltd and Just Trading (Pty) Ltd for supply and delivery of news printing reels has raised eyebrows since one of the companies is linked Morwaeng’s sister in law.
Tshepe Khumiso, according to CIPA registration documents.
News reels are rolls of paper that are used in the printing of newspapers and they vary on prices depending on the size of the newspaper to be printed.
The supply of printing reels has been disrupted by the Russia Ukraine war since 2022 pushing the price of paper through the roof.
