MASERU – THE Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) is investigating the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for alleged corruption in the procurement of ballot papers used in the October 7 election.
The DCEO launched the probe two weeks before the election following a complaint from a small political party called HOPE.
As part of the investigation, the anti-corruption unit raided the IEC’s offices and confiscated documents linked to the tender for the printing and supply of the ballots.
DCEO spokesperson ’Matlhokomelo Senoko said they have already confiscated the site inspection score sheets and the evaluation documents that were used when choosing a suitable printing company.
“The matter is still under investigation. We have confiscated some documents from the IEC,” Senoko said, adding that she could not give further details.
She however said they are yet to decide if they are looking at corruption or fraud.
HOPE spokesman, Nkopane Seutloali, said he reported the allegations to the DCEO a few weeks before the election after suspecting that the IEC could have cut some corners.
The tender was awarded to Uniprint, a Durban-based printing company.
Seutloali said the tender process was not transparent. He said they wanted the DCEO to stop the procurement and the IEC to postpone the election.
The IEC director of elections, Advocate Mpaiphele Maqutu, told thepost last night that Seutloali’s allegations and report to the DCEO were baseless.
Maqutu said the ballot procurement process was an open process in which the media, police, and political parties participated.
He said Seutloali is bitter because he wasn’t part of the team that travelled to South Africa to inspect six companies that had submitted bids for the tender.
“The complainant is just fighting because he did not get a per diem,” Maqutu said, adding those who were part of the inspection team were selected by political parties.
“He came to my office wanting me to tamper with the election of political parties that selected representatives (to visit Uniprint) but I refused,” he said.
“His gripe is that he was not among the selected ones and he did not go to South Africa.”
Maqutu said Seutloali’s complaint is that the IEC handpicked Uniprint for the contract despite the technical evaluation team’s recommendations.
Maqutu said the tender committee gave him the name of the winning bidder and he made the final decision.
He said he realised that the tender committee made the mistake of using only a technical evaluation team’s report and not one done by the inspection team that visited the six printing companies in South Africa.
Adv Maqutu said he met the committee and they used the documents signed by the team that inspected the companies.
He said after including the reports from the inspection team they realised that the company initially recommended by the committee was not the winner.
“We did not change anything. We just included the results from the inspection team,” Adv Maqutu
said.
And while evaluating again, the company that was awarded still won.
“I fail to understand what these people want,” he said.
Maqutu said he did not take part in the scoring because he is the director and has no interest in which company wins a contract.
He said he surrendered all the procurement documents to the DCEO because the IEC has nothing to hide.
Maqutu said “some parties are taking chances with unfounded complaints”.
“They lost elections and now they want to hold on to everything that passes. That is baseless,” he said.
“The complainant has baseless and nonsensical complaints,” he said.
“He is just mad that he was not part of the team that went to South Africa.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Congress (DC) has written to the IEC seeking the ballot paper procurement and evaluation report.
The DC is also questioning how the IEC procured the ballot papers.
The IEC is however yet to comply with the DC’s request.
Maqutu said the DCEO has taken all the documents that the DC wanted.
The DC spokesman, Serialong Qoo, told thepost that they are still expecting the report from the
IEC.
Nkheli Liphoto
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