A R261 million tender for the overhaul of the Limpopo province hospital information systems (HIS) - awarded two months ago to local empowerment consortium LHC Health Solutions, in partnership with the Australian-based IBA Health - could be reconsidered.
This is after one of the losing bidders, Business Connexion (BCX), won an interim interdict in the Pretoria High Court last week to temporarily halt the project.
Limpopo health department spokesman Phuti Seloba confirms BCX will have 30 days to file a formal application to review the process.
R140m less
"Its main argument was there were some flaws in the awarding of the tender," he says, adding the value of the BCX bid was about R121 million - R140 million less than LCH`s.
However, Seloba maintains that BCX, along with other companies whose bids were substantially lower, did not offer the most suitable solution.
Asked whether BCX will utilise this 30-day period to file a formal application to review the tender, BCX CEO Peter Watt says: "Without a doubt. We could do the job and we could do it much more cost-efficiently."
BCX`s group executive for public sector business, Isaac Mophatlane, says the credentials of the tender winners should be closely investigated, considering the large amount of money involved.
"We are asking the question of whether the proper process has been followed - all we are looking for is transparency [from the Limpopo health department]."
IBA Health had not commented by the time of publication.
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