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Corruption scandal stalls Zambia’s digital migration

By , ITWeb’s Zambian correspondent.
Zambia , 02 Oct 2013

Corruption scandal stalls Zambia’s digital migration

Zambia’s race to meet a 2015 digital broadcast migration deadline has hit a stumbling block owing to allegations of corruption.

Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has instituted investigations into the awarding of the country’s national digital migration tender to China’s Star Software Technologies.

The move comes after the Zambian government cancelled the $220 million tender amid allegations of irregularities from the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA).

The tender involved the supply, delivery and commission of Zambia’s national digital terrestrial broadcasting system.

But the ACC wants all government officials that were involved in the deal, including Star Technologies, to be prosecuted.

ACC public relations manager Timothy Moono has said the country’s corruption watchdog has launched investigations into the matter following numerous queries from the public regarding the cancellation of the tender.

“I can confirm that the we have launched investigations into the cancellation of the national digital migration tender,” said Moono.

Zambia is racing to beat the 2015 migration deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The tender for the project was awarded earlier this year after bidding.

However, after the bid was awarded to Star Technologies, the two other bidders, Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei Technologies, appealed the decision. ZTE and Huawei alleged that widespread corruption dogged the deal.

The Star Technologies deal, though, is the second tender awarded to a Chinese company that has been cancelled in Zambia this year.

Last month, the Zambian government terminated a $210 million closed circuit television (CCTV) camera with China’s ZTE also following allegations of corruption.

The CCTV camera project was initiated to assist with crime prevention, traffic management and the general monitoring of the streets of the capital, Lusaka.

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