THE KEY TO TRUSTEDÂ
GOVERNANCE
IN AFRICA
OUR STORY
Letter from the CEO
​
In 1995, the democratic government of South Africa established reform measures and processes with the purpose of making the tendering system more accessible, and hence the economy more inclusive. Although government has tried to minimize corruption in the public sector with a host of new laws and regulations introduced over the past 12 years, current tender policy and practise has reinforced elite networks and patronage rather than providing opportunities for new entrants. The tender system in place today lacks transparency, accountability and integrity. For those SMMEs who do manage to be awarded tenders, this can be crippling.
I have seen this unfold in painful ways, first-hand. I was born in 1995, and raisedby a single parent. My mother works as the administrator of an SMME, and in 2016, she experienced severe financial drawbacks in her company due to the unnecessary payments delays that affect many SMMEs. These delays, lack of transparency and accountability resulted in an indelible financial burden on my family and led to me having to shoulder the family’s expenses while still being a student. SMMEs remain a hugely underrepresented voice in policy formation and business practise but are essential to the socio-economic transformation of our economy. Moreover, the tender process should be a platform for the realisation for national priorities and a bridge for building healthy government-business relations, not a hotbed for corruption. In 2017, my frustration coupled with my passion to make a difference and see this country reach its full potential, lead me and Trevas Elliot (my co-founder), to research the potential application of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to the South African public sector procurment process. And so Siyathenda was born.
​
It is our belief that the application of DLT will not only improve efficiency of the tender process but also increase the system’s capacity for accountability and trust. Most significantly, it allows for a fair competative bidding process for new and existing companies (Phases 1). Siyathenda, or ‘We Tender’, is anchored by the belief that through the harnessing of new technology and awareness of where the current system has failed, we can ensure a fair tender process from bid specifications to the awarding of a tender. This system can be platform and a foundation upon which South Africa can build an inclusive economy which works.
​
Siqiniseko Buthelezi
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve"
​
OUR TECHNOLOGY
Scalable, Interoperable and Secure
Siyathenda:
(Phases 1)
​
Was designed to enforce a competitive and transparent public tendering process, that captures every informational transaction throughout the process. The capturing of this data will allow for an accountability system that addresses corruption, collusion and fraud; through a non-reputative trusted audit trail that is immutable. By design, Siyathenda will distribute the trusted audit trail across municipalities nationwide, allowing for a public tendering system that is immediately transparent to vetted participants. This digitised and distributed tender process promotes efficiency, system availability and ensures that SCM legislation is followed. Siyathenda will leverage off of South Africa’s Central Supplier Database (CSD) and e-Tender portal to ensure interoperability between the current governmental procurement functions.
Our white paper provides a far more compressive view of the suggested system, and can be requested from our directors. As of February 2019 we are in our proof of concept stage and our team is collaborating with Swellendam municipality to pilot the Siyathenda system.
​
​
