By Tamiru Geda
V-SAT communication equipment purchased by the ministry of revenue has proved incompatible with the system used by the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC), disclosed sources close to the concerned ministry and corporation.
Some years ago the Ministry of Revenue (MOR) ordered NCR, a local IT firm, to conduct the purchase of the v-sat equipment, and then-after to install the equipment. The communication and computer networking system is very important in the implementation of the taxation system at the federal level. Therefore the alleged incompatibility of the purchased equipment has caused much worry to concerned high government officials and especially Getachew Belay who leads the major implementing agency-the Ministry of Revenue.
Information obtained by Capital revealed that the networking & communication system was designed by the Ministry of Revenue to be used to implement the Tax-payer Identification program. NCR was obliged to purchase & supply needed hardware and accessories, including V-SAT equipment. The IT company made the purchase and delivered the requested equipment to MOR. The latter forwarded the equipment to ETC – the only company in the country in position to connect all the v-sat. During the effort to put the system in place it was found out that the v-sat equipment imported from a certain American company was not compatible with the system that ETC utilizes currently.
It is said the purchased material is lying in the ETC’s stores without any use. A senior official at the corporation who asked for anonymity, told Capital that the purchase and delivery of the material was undertaken without the participation of ETC. He said that a technical team should have been involved to oversee the process so that problems like incompatibility would be avoided.
It is said that the Ministry of Revenue is now using ETC’s latest available network – the Broad Band network system, but IT experts complain that the current communication system is slow and wouldn’t provide the efficient connection they expected to get out of the v-sat communication system.
“How could such a mistake happen” was the question Getachew posed to his subordinates at a management meeting held a few days ago. Our sources say there wasn’t a satisfactory reply for the minister’s question, nor could the high level meeting find out the exact figure the failure would cost the government nor what they could do with the equipment which is lying idle.
The same sources also disclosed that ETC also contributed to the problem by receiving the V-sat equipment without checking their fitness upon delivery, thereby failing to detect the problem earlier as it should have. Concerning the purchasing process some groups are expressing their suspicion of foul play. The skeptics claim that a brand other than the one originally considered was delivered in the name of equipment enhancement. Capital also talked with Miriam Said, project coordinator at NCR over the telephone, she denied the claims indicated above saying that it was an old story told over again and made the counter claim that NCR has already resolved the matter, she said that all the problems existed only in the malicious rumors spread by people who made them up due to private antagonism against NCR. The public relations officers at the Ministries of Revenue and the Federal Inland Revenue Authority on their behalves said that they were not well informed upon the matter and instead suggested that the head of the IT division at the authority is responsible. He, on his behalf responded with a similar answer saying “I’m a new comer to the authority and the deal, and it is beyond my capacity to give answers.” But he admitted that he has heard that the system that ETC may implement and the one already ordered by the IT company (NCR) do not match. It is known that the whole project awarded to NCR had a value of 4 million USD.