Two air force suppliers are facing prosecution for collusive conduct, the Competition Commission of South Africa said in a statement on Monday.
KF computers and SAAB Grintek Defense have been charged with collusive tendering and referred to the Competition Tribunal, regarding a tender which was publicised by the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), the statement said.
The tender was for the provision of network maintenance and system support services to the South African Air Force’s (SAAF) Ground Command and Control Systems (GCCS) and Current Intelligence System (CURIS).
The prosecution follows a complaint from SITA in March 2016, alleging that KF Computers and SAAB may have coordinated their response to the tender, the statement added.
The Commission found that KF Computers and SAAB discussed and agreed as to their respective tender bids in response to the SITA tender advertisement, the Competition Commission said.
According to the Commission, this amounts to collusive tendering in contravention of the Competition Act, and it has asked the Tribunal to impose a fine of 10% of the respective companies' turnover.