General: Call for Caselines to be put out for tender again

Multinational media and technology company Thomson Reuters has called for the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) to retender the court document management system contract in an open, transparent, and competitive process, reports TimesLIVE. ‘Similarly, Thomson Reuters is also seeking legal advice in relation to the termination of the contract with the OCJ’s former senior officials,’ it said. The company said there had been questions raised about the R225m contract it was awarded by the OCJ for the provision of its evidence sharing solution, CaseLines, and the actions of the OCJ’s former senior officials.

In June three former OCJ officials were accused of corruptly setting themselves up for a large slice of a R225m IT contract after they helped to strike the deal. They are former CFO Casper Coetzer, former spokesperson and chief director of court administration Nathi Mncube and former case management director Yvonne van Niekerk. They resigned in May and took jobs as local partners to Thomson Reuters. Through their subcontract they were set to earn 30% of the value of the deal, about R67.5m. It is unclear what work they have performed on the contract. Thomson Reuters announced it had launched a formal investigation to understand the facts, during which all work with the subcontractor, ZA Square, was put on hold. Thomson Reuters said it had not paid Coetzer, Mncube or Van Niekerk nor received any payment from the OCJ for the CaseLines contract. It said to ensure continued support is provided to the court system, Thomson Reuters will continue to provide the CaseLines product and associated services to the OCJ. ‘Given the circumstances and our ongoing discussions with the OCJ, we believe that the proper path forward should be for the OCJ to retender the contract in an open, transparent and competitive process.’