SA Municipality paid R11 million for service which is free through Google Maps - Because Tenders ONLY solicit paid services and not free or open source services

A North West municipality paid R11 million to a politically connected Zimbabwe-born businessman for services which are free from Google Maps and a minimal fee from the Deeds Office.

The City Press reported that the Moses Kotane Local Municipality paid the businessman to distinguish between land which the municipality owns and private land.

Yes OK there may have also been some intent here, but it just shows how tenders can be manipulated. A tender should be the last resort if a proper scan of the market reveals no free or open source services. An open source service would entail no purchase or license costs, but rather the consultancy services for implementation and support (again if no internal capability exists). Even though there is payment for an open source service, any company can compete to provide the service and there is no vendor lock-in.

National Treasury should mandate that a formal Request for Information (RFI) is published to check for such inputs before a tender goes out.

See Municipality paid R11 million for service which is free through Google Maps

#technology #southafrica #tenders #opensource #municipality

A North West municipality paid R11 million to a politically connected businessman for services which are free from Google Maps and a minimal fee from the Deeds Office.

source https://gadgeteer.co.za/sa-municipality-paid-r11-million-service-which-free-through-google-maps-because-tenders-only