Top ICT tenders: Smart cities, broadcasting back in focus

With the end of the year in sight, government is now mostly pushing tender submission deadlines out to the last two weeks of January and, in one case, even February.

This doesn’t mean there is little of interest on offer from government and its entities. In fact, two tenders featuring in this week’s Tender Watch are likely to catch the attention of both the public and ICT sectors.

First up is an advertisement from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) for a service provider to conduct an assessment, evaluate the readiness of selected municipalities in terms of their adoption and implementation of the Smart Cities Framework (SCF), and develop a support programme for the implementation of smart city initiatives over the period of a year.

The department notes the dream of building South African smart cities goes to the highest levels of government and has been specifically mentioned by president Cyril Ramaphosa in both the 2018 and 2020 State of the Nation addresses to Parliament. 

It adds the purpose of the SCF is to guide decision-making and provide all role-players with a structured approach to identifying, planning and implementing smart city initiatives that are appropriate to the local context.

“Because smart cities must be informed by, and respond to, local conditions, the SCF does not contain instructions or specifications. For the same reason, the framework does not prescribe minimum standards or requirements for smart cities, initiatives or technologies. The framework rather guides and informs decision-making to ensure smart city initiatives are appropriate to the particular context,” it says.

COGTA has identified 16 municipalities from the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape for analysis by the winning bidder. Following analysis, the bidder will be required to identify five to eight cities and towns for “redesign and refurbishment” and produce a support programme with detailed analysis reports, site plans and 3D models as outlined in the terms of reference.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) closes the issue with a tender that requests assistance in conducting an inquiry into television subscription broadcasting services.

The tender follows a notice published in July 2016 of its intention to inquire into the state of competition in subscription television broadcasting services. At that time, the regulator noted that despite having issued five subscription broadcasting service licences in 2007 and a further two in 2015, only three licensees were operational. This notice was followed by a discussion document in 2017, draft findings in 2019 and public hearings that were held in January 2021.

Following the public hearings, however, ICASA noted the rapidly-changing market developments will have an impact on the final findings. Accordingly, the authority decided to extend its inquiry in the subscription broadcasting services market.

“The purpose of the extended inquiry is to assess the state of competition and determine whether or not there are markets or market segments within the subscription broadcasting services value chain that may warrant regulation in the context of a market review in terms of section 67(4) of the ECA,” it says.

The scope of work includes:

• Defining the relevant wholesale and retail markets or market segments in television subscription broadcasting, taking into account the relationship, if any, and the impact from adjacent markets (eg, free-to air broadcasters, new technologies).
• Determining whether there is effective competition in those relevant markets and market segments.
• Determining which, if any, licensees have significant market power in those markets and market segments where there is ineffective competition.
• Developing and recommending proposals on appropriate pro-competitive licence conditions (not limited to conditions set out in section 67(7) of the ECA) to be applied to licensees with significant market power to remedy the market failure if there is evidence of such market failure.

Other tenders that make this week’s top 10 include:

• The Department of Basic Education is looking for a service provider for the hosting, support and maintenance of its education facility management system.
• The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities is advertising for the development of an integrated knowledge hub. This knowledge hub is required to address the expectation of internal and external stakeholders to have access to the department's data, evidence, information and knowledge on key issues regarding women, youth and persons with disabilities.
• The Gauteng Department of e-Government is calling for the supply and delivery of 205 laptops for period of 12 months. These laptops are required to address high demand due to the “radical increasing number of staff head count”, more employees working from home, and the replacement of old laptops that have reached their end of life.
• The Department of Community Safety in Gauteng wishes to contract with one service provider for the leasing of seven high-volume scanners for its document and records management services division. The contract will include hardware installation, software licences, software upgrades, maintenance and system integration onto a document and records management enterprise solution.
• The National School of Government requires Microsoft Open Value subscriptions for Education Solution for three years. The winning bidder will be a licensed Microsoft service provider and will be expected to provide ongoing support and advisory services in addition to the licences.
• Transnet wishes to establish a framed list of approved entities for track and trace devices and related services on Transnet Freight Rail wagons for the purpose of providing near-real-time insights to customers. The tender follows various studies, proof of concepts and pilots which “confirmed the feasibility, viability and desirability of the track and trace technology”.
• The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is looking for proposals for the support, monitoring, administration, maintenance and enhancement of its website that will result in a website that incorporates the relevant best practice in terms of content, structure, functionality, security, technology, user experience and visual design. However, given its small to medium size and “the small size of ICT budget”, the DBSA advises bidders to be precise in their response in terms of scoping and pricing.
• The Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) wishes to appoint a service provider for the supply and installation of an intrusion prevention system, which will help it to identify malicious traffic and proactively block it from entering its ICT network and also protect its network from cyber criminal attacks by actively seeking and blocking external threats before they can reach potentially vulnerable network devices. In the tender documentation, the PPSA admits it currently does not have an intrusion prevention system in place.

Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs
A service provider is sought to assess and evaluate the readiness in terms of adoption and implementation of the smart city’s framework at the selected municipalities and develop a support programme for implementation of smart city initiatives as per the smart cities framework for a period of 12 months.
Non-compulsory briefing: 17 Jan – Microsoft Teams, Link.
Tender no: CoGTA (T) 07/2022
Information: Nomvula Ntuli, Tel: (012) 336 0820, E-mail: t07.2022@cogta.gov.za.
Closing date: 27 Jan 2023
Tags: Services, Professional services, Consulting, Smart city, Smart cities

Department of Basic Education
The department wishes to appoint a service provider for the hosting, support and maintenance of the education facility management system.
Non-compulsory briefing: 7 Dec – Microsoft Teams.
Tender no: DBE183
Information: Sipho Banda, Tel: (012) 357 3268, E-mail: banda.s@dbe.gov.za.
Closing date: 30 Jan 2023
Tags: Software, Services, Hosting, Support and maintenance, Mobile application, Database support

Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
The department is looking for a service provider to undertake the development of the integrated knowledge hub.
Tender no: RFP 03 - 2022/23
Information: Margaretha Jooste, Tel: 067 420 6882, E-mail: margaretha.jooste@dwypd.gov.za.
Closing date: 12 Dec 2022
Tags: Software, Software development, Knowledge management

Department of e-Government, Gauteng
Bids are invited for the supply and delivery of 205 laptops for period of 12 months.
Tender no: GT/GDCS/108/2022
Information: Thebe Mereotlhe or Kwazi Shezi, Tel: 083 776 5817, E-mail: Thebe.Mereotlhe@gauteng.gov.za.
Closing date: 27 Jan 2023
Tags: Hardware, Computing, Mobility

Department of Community Safety, Gauteng
The provincial department wishes to lease seven high-volume scanners for document and records management services, including the hardware installation, software licences, software upgrades, maintenance, system integration and training onto a document management enterprise solution.
Tender no: GT/GDeG/110/2022
Information: Sizwe Sibisi, Tel: (011) 689 8270, E-mail: Sizwe.sibisi2@gauteng.gov.za.
Closing date: 27 Jan 2023
Tags: Software, Hardware, Services, Imaging, Scanning, Document management, Records management, Software licensing, Support and maintenance, Training and eLearning

National School of Government
Proposals are invited for the provision of Microsoft Open Value subscriptions for Education Solution for three years.
Tender no: NSG/BID/08/2022/2023
Information: Anet de Beer, Tel: (012) 441 6000, E-mail: Annetha.debeer@thensg.gov.za.
Closing date: 20 Jan 2023
Tags: Software, Software licensing, Education

Transnet SOC Ltd
The company wishes to establish a framed list of approved entities for track and trace devices and related services on wagons for the purpose of providing track and trace insights to Transnet Freight Rail customers, for a period of two years.
Non-compulsory briefing: 12 Dec – Microsoft Teams.
Tender no: HOAC_HO_38772
Information: Madumetja Mabitsela, Tel: (011) 584 0609, E-mail: Madumetja.Mabitsela@transnet.net.
Closing date: 9 Feb 2023
Tags: Hardware, Software, Track and trace, Services

Development Bank of Southern Africa
The DBSA requests proposals for the support, monitoring, administration, maintenance and enhancement of its internet website.
Compulsory briefing: 8 Dec – Microsoft Teams.
Tender no: RFP359/2022
Information: David Nyaku, Tel: (011) 313 3767, E-mail: DavidN2@dbsa.org.
Closing date: 19 Jan 2023
Tags: Software, Internet, Website, Software development, Services, Support and maintenance

Public Protector South Africa
The public protector wishes to appoint a service provider for the supply and installation of an intrusion prevention system with three years maintenance.
Compulsory briefing: 8 Dec – Microsoft Teams.
Tender no: RFP359/2022
Information: David Nyaku, Tel: (011) 313 3767, E-mail: DavidN2@dbsa.org.
Closing date: 19 Jan 2023
Tags: Software, Security, Intrusion protection, Cybersecurity, Internet, Services, Support and maintenance

Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
A service provider is sought to assist ICASA in conducting an inquiry into television subscription broadcasting services for 12 months.
Non-compulsory briefing: 20 Jan – Microsoft Teams.
Tender no: ICASA 53/2022
Information: Bid Administration, Tel: (012) 568 3629, E-mail: BidAdministration@icasa.org.za.
Closing date: 30 Jan 2023
Tags: Services, Professional services, Consulting, Broadcasting