Govt. dumps P200m Data Centre project

Government of Botswana has pulled off the plug from Botswana Innovation Hub’s Data Centre project, Botswana Guardian can reveal. Led by Chief Executive Officer Alan Boshwaen, BIH forged a partnership with the Department of Information Technology (DIT) two years ago to build an integrated Government, Integrated Data Centre (GIDC) within the Science and Technology Park in Gaborone. Information reaching this publication is that the government who was BIH’s client has now dropped the P200million project which was at an advanced stage citing lack of funds.

Sources told this publication that, “Government has dumped the GIDC project citing insufficient funds, hence the BIH was instructed sometime in October 2016 to terminate all works on the project. Already there were five project officers hired and had already undergone training for this specific project, vehicles were also bought. Now these officers are just idling.”

Botswana Guardian learns that sometime in November last year, BIH wrote to the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary requesting to be allowed to complete the Detailed Design and be certified. The achievement of this certification was meant to make it easier for government to source funding for the construction. Further, BIH recommended that the DIT should immediately contact Uptime Institute to advise contract termination terms and that the vehicles and other mobilisation equipment be retained by BIH as an offset to some of the outstanding management fees. Pending the Ministry’s response to BIH on its November 2016 letter, Botswana Guardian has it in good authority that the project manager (BIH) is ready to end the project as instructed.

Sources indicated that the government’s concern was that the project’s cost estimates were excessively high, which BIH has since indicated that a thorough benchmarking exercise was conducted with similar data centres locally to have an informed cost estimate of projects similar to that of GIDC. The BIH told the client that the estimates are regionally competitive.

BIH indicated to this publication that the DIT in the Ministry of Transport and Communications are custodians of the Government Data Centre project and best suited to respond to this publication’s questions. However, in as far as the questions relate to BIH, PR and Communications Manager, Tigele Mokobi pointed that the project was never terminated but was suspended due to budgetary constraints.

Meanwhile, one of the sources indicated that some of the officers have been temporarily moved to property division to assist with the ongoing Icon building whilst others are finalising the GIDC pending the government’s response on the November communication by BIH. “These officers are on the edge. It is alleged that once this is final, the project management office will be restructured to focus on BIH projects. Without the GIDC there is no PMO,” says the source. But Mokobi countered that the onus for determination of the “way forward” for the project rests with the owner of the project, being the Department of Information Technology, which he said shall be done in due course.”“It is not true to suggest that staff working on the GIDC are idle. Staff are engaged with other ongoing projects within the BIH project and programme management portfolios. Other resources have also been engaged within the broader organisational structures.”    

Botswana Guardian can safely reveal that in accordance with the signed Memorandum of Agreement, the BIH was entitled to 10 percent of the total project cost inclusive of Value Added Tax as project management fees. Documents in this publication’s possession indicate that, cost of the project was envisaged to be P400million.

At the same time, BIH management fees were estimated at P40million. As per the fee, project mobilisation was to consume 5 percent, Designs 20 percent, Construction 35 percent, ICT requirements gathering and specifications 10 percent and 30 percent for ICT installations.  The revised estimated project cost after tender then became P217.6million which was made up of the design fees and construction fees.

The document further reveals that, at the beginning of the project, BIH requested mobiliation funds of P15million and at this stage, this publication can reveal that project mobilisation has been completed with the project management fee of P5million having been paid to BIH out of a total fee of P7.69million. Of these mobilisation fees, specialised personnel were recruited, three vehicles were purchased, office furniture and equipment and as per the MoA, all procured equipment is to be returned to the government. The amount due on management fees to BIH now is P2.69million.

The ICT requirements gathering and specifications together with designs of the building and ICT have been completed, pending payment of management fees to BIH. One percent of the construction stage has been done whilst nothing has been done at ICT installations stage. At the time of going to press, the Public Relations office of the Ministry of Transport and Communications could not release the response to this publication pending the Permanent Secretary’s approval.

Botswana Innovation Hub Science and Technology Park boasts state-of-art ICT infrastructure and connectivity. For this reason the Science and Technology Park which is still behind schedule, is however the preferred host for the development of data centers.
Botswana Innovation Hub is working on other data centre initiatives with leading local and international entities to set up at the Science and Technology Park. Some of BIH’s existing strategic partnerships to foster technology entrepreneurship and innovation include; Southern African Innovation Support Programme (SAIS), Technology Transfer Office, Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC), Clean Tech Centre, and First Steps Venture Centre (FSVC).