A day after questions raised against a contract signed by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) at the end of last month on development of a new data management system, called the Real Time Data Management System, aimed at bringing transparency in telecom services tax collection, the National Procurement Authority (NPA) defended the contract, saying that foreign companies can get a contract even if they are not registered in Afghanistan. 

The contract which values $11.1 million was signed at the Presidential Palace on February 28 between Communication and Information Technology Minister Shahzad Aryubi and representative of Bustos Group, an American company.

Farshid Ghyasi, head of Afghanistan IT Companies Association (AITCA) based in Kabul, in an article obtained by TOLOnews on March 04, writes that the company awarded the contract lacks the required skills and experience to implement the project.

Ghyasi says in the article that in 2018, the NPA released an expression of interest and only four companies submitted their interest and were shortlisted for the RFP round and were invited to bid for the project:

• Arraxxee SAS Paris (lead) In association with Paradigm Capital and My ICT (Sub-Consultant), a local IT company (a France-based company)

• Vanrise Solutions S.A.L Lebanon (a Lebanon-based company)

• PT Astra Graphia Information Technology (AGIT) (an Indonesia-based company)

• Prologix LLC (lead) in association with Subex (a UAE-based company)

He writes that sources say that the National Procurement Authority evaluated technical proposal of the abovementioned companies but before evaluating their financial proposals, the tender was canceled for unknown reasons.

According to him, it is said that LATRO Services who is in the business of SIM card fraud detection is the sub-contractor for this project is expected to do all the job.

“They are currently working with GSM operators in Afghanistan such as Roshan, AWCC and others in the area of SIM fraud detection or more simply SIM Box detections in Afghanistan,” he writes.

In response to these questions, the NPA chairman Elham Omar Hotaki, who has awarded the Real Time contract on government’s behalf, said foreign companies can prepare all their documents within 28 days after a contract to start their activities in Afghanistan. 

Hotaki said the Bustos Group and LATRO Services – a subcontractor – can start their activities on five sections of the Real Time Data Management System in Afghanistan as business companies if they register in Afghanistan within 28 days and bring banking guarantees. 

According to Hotaki, the contract not only includes the Real Time System, but it also includes capacity building of 40 employees of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on the system, purchasing of additional equipment for the system, maintenance, transfer of the equipment to Afghanistan and installation of the system. 

“Responsibility of four parts of the contract is belonged to the LATRO Services and one part to Bustos Group. As head of the LATRO Services could not come to Afghanistan, they, in a letter, havehanded the authority to Bustos Group’s chairman to sign the contract on their behalf with the Afghan government,” Hotaki told TOLOnews on Tuesday.

“We only have the responsibility of technical issues,” said Saaez Zaland, spokesman for Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

“This responsibility (guarantee) is belonged to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology,” Hotaki said.

A researcher of Integrity Watch Afghanistan, Nasir Temuri, said some parts of the contract “are still unclear”.

Two Kabul residents, interviewed by TOLOnews, said government should ensure a transparent system for collection of telecom services taxes.

“It is not known what government is doing with the [telecom services] money. It is unclear whether government takes the money or the companies,” said Farooq, a Kabul resident.

“Embezzlement of the money will ruin the country,” said Adil, a Kabul resident.