Which bank will Gauteng switch to?

Cape Town – Four banks that have tendered to service Gauteng’s R90bn provincial budget tender will be able to see who has the best deal on the table during the adjudication process next week.

The banks vying for the provision of centralised banking services are Standard Bank [JSE:SBK], First National Bank, Absa Bank and Nedbank [JSE:NED].

The successful bank will have to, among others, process the payment of 200 000 salaried employees in Gauteng per month.

Finance MEC Barbara Creecy will observe the adjudication from the public gallery in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature on July 3 in what is the penultimate step before a tender is awarded.

“The province invited four approved banks late last year to bid for the contract to provide banking services for the over R90bn provincial budget,” Gauteng Treasury spokesperson John Sukazi said in a statement on Thursday.

In the advert for the tender, Treasury said the bidding bank would “comprise a single team, managed by a single lead person”.

“The members of the team will have both the skill and experience necessary to undertake the range of tasks set out in the terms of reference. Each individual on the team must be personally available to do the work as and when required.

“The lead person will be held accountable in terms of the contract for ensuring deliverables in terms of this assignment and for the professional conduct and integrity of the team.

“The contract for the provision of centralised banking services to the provincial government for a fixed period of five years is the second pilot project of government’s new Open Tender pilot process,” Sukazi said.

Open Tender project

Sukazi said the aim of the Open Tender project is to promote transparency in government procurement processes by allowing the public to observe the process of the awards.

“On the closing date (February 6) the tender box was immediately opened in front of members of the public, bidders and the media,” he said. “Bids were registered, imprinted and price schedules announced to the public.

“After the opening of boxes (on February 6), the Gauteng Provincial Treasury’s Bid Evaluation Committee conducted an initial screening of the tenders submitted followed by an evaluation of functionality to deliver. It drew a shortlist for consideration by the Bid Adjudication Committee.

“An independent probity team audited the whole process from the closing of the tender up to the evaluation process,” he said.

The probity team report will be part of the documents that will be forwarded to the Bid Adjudication Committee for consideration in the meeting on July 3 2015.