Johannesburg — Zimbabwean company Twenty Third Century Systems (TTCS) — a pan-African corporate specialising in information technology solutions — has fallen foul of dirty tactics, after winning a lucrative tender in Malawi.
TTCS last September won a US$15 million Integrated Financial Management System tender adding to its huge profile in East and Southern African markets.
However, according to a report by News of the South, TTCS has become a victim of mudslinging from a competitor, Indian company Techno Brain.
According to reports, TTCS and Germany IT giant SAP are Techno Brain’s biggest competitors across the African continent.
TTCS has operations in most countries where Techno Brain is also operating. In recent years, it is alleged that TTCS has taken away significant business from Techno Brain in Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania and other African counties.
Techno Brain offers solutions in tax and revenue management as well as in finance, that TTCS and SAP, have spread.
Slighted by the latest reversal, Techno Brain has reportedly gone for broke to scuttle TTCS, allegedly hiring an ex-employee, who is also a former SAP employee, to raise misconduct allegations against TTCS.
“There was tangible anger when Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) was lost to SAP, as this was a key account for the company,” a source told this publication.
“Techno Brain has since been trying directly and indirectly to discredit TTCS to TPA, allegedly working with some TPA executives, as a way of getting back at TTCS,” the source said.
Investigations have revealed that Techno Brain is also known to be using the same tactics against TTCS’ other clients in the region.
Recently, a range of internet publications and articles were published in the Malawian press to discredit the tender process which culminated in TTCS being awarded the contract.
Investigations also revealed that Techno Brain also tried to influence several institutions and civic society organisations in Malawi to discredit the award to TTCS, all meant to have the IFMIS award cancelled.
It has since been established that the timing of revelations by the so-called whistleblower on contracts that were signed in Tanzania more than three years earlier, was aimed at derailing the IFMIS deal in Malawi.
Each time contract negotiations were scheduled, coincidentally an article disparaging TTCS would be published, sanctioning TTCS to undergo further scrutiny before the deal could be done.
As TTCS got cleared, the spread of venomous articles increased in social media, where this so-called whistleblower story was leaked, portraying TTCS as corrupt, with one story going viral on the eve of the contract.
Further investigations have confirmed that the Techno Brain’s hitman, working with a senior Techno Brain executive, had been instructed and paid to give details of partners he had worked with, especially targeting TTCS.
“The threats and intimidation became more vicious as IFMIS was awarded to TTCS and just before contract signing,” another source close to the developments said.
An industry observer told this publication: “Technology industry players find this quite frightening to think at what lengths firms will go to, to get these coveted opportunities and retain market share.
“The saga of these happenings, apparently so emanated to territory encroachment since TTCS is said to have taken away the prime Tanzania Ports deal, another customer of Techno Brain who had outgrown their solutions.” —News of the South/Herald Reporter.