Top ICT tenders: SASSA to roll out modernisation, digitisation projects

It’s a busy week on National Treasury’s eTenders Portal, with many opportunities for the ICT industry to consider. However, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), dominates the issue with six requests focused on modernisation and digitisation improvements in two provinces.

The agency’s Western Cape region kicks off the series with an advert for the phase three requirements of its rollout of queue management systems (QMS), audio and visual systems and kiosks. The specifications reveal that the installations, and in some cases repairs, will cover 17 office locations.

Supply and delivery of ICT equipment is also sought for the agency’s Western Cape region as part of its modernisation and digitisation project. This includes desktops for its QMS and kiosks, multifunction units for the kiosks, ticket printers, barcode scanners, USB webcams and power banks. The agency will only consider bids from service providers accredited for the Western Cape on SITA’s RFB740 transversal contract.

Next, the Western Cape region is calling for bids for the procurement of wireless access points, and core and edge switches with accessories and installation. The successful service provider will be expected to store equipment until date of installation and then deliver to each of the 29 sites at the time of installation.

Finally, SASSA’s Western Cape region requires provision of 100 biometric fingerprint sensors and 650 biometric fingerprint scanners with ISO 7816 smart card readers. Delivery of the equipment will be to the agency’s regional office in Adderley Street, Cape Town.

Moving to the agency’s Mpumalanga region, service providers are invited to submit proposals for the supply, delivery, installation and testing of a QMS for 18 local offices in the province. The tender documentation reveals SASSA has custom-built a QMS that will manage long queues within specific local offices. The successful service provider will be required to cable and install the equipment as per the specifications.

Supply, delivery, installation and configuration of network equipment is also required for the 18 local offices in the Mpumalanga province. According to the agency’s WAN and LAN standards, the Aruba 6200F switch is the primary edge switch to be used at all sites where there are network-connected devices.

Other tenders that make this week’s top 10:

• The State Information Technology Agency is requesting bids for the supply, installation and support of core network equipment for the South African Police Service (SAPS). The agency says SAPS has entrusted it with the responsibility to modernise the core network in line with the latest technology developments in order to support current and future business requirements. This contract will entail the supply, installation and support of the network equipment for 18 SAPS switching centres and two data centres.

• SITA is also inviting bids for the acquisition of SAS Base software support and maintenance for the Numerus data centre. The agency notes the software is used for the processing of SAPS statistical data relating to user activity on SAPS mainframe systems. Loss of the use of this product and its associated functionality will have a severe impact on SITA’s ability to deliver SLA contracted services to SAPS, it adds.

• The National Research Foundation’s South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement requires software enhancement, maintenance and technical support on the existing South African Network of Science Centre (SANSC) online system. The agency explains that this online platform system is designed to coordinate and manage the activities associated with the evaluation and accreditation of science centres. However, the system is seven years old and need updating and support.

• The South African Revenue Service closes the issue with a request for information on document authentication as part of an intelligent AI verification solution. The request aims to assess supplier capabilities in document fraud detection, including detection accuracy, supported document types, advanced technologies (AI, machine learning, computer vision, etc), solution architecture, deployment options, integration, scalability, security and regulatory compliance. Suppliers are also invited to share their experiences, implementation challenges, best practices, and commercial models to guide future solution design, procurement and operational alignment.