‘We thought SSNIT was poor’ – Persol

One of the companies that bid for the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Operating Business Suite (OBS) deal, Persol Company, is shocked to learn that SSNIT eventually settled for a $72 million contract.
A total of 10 companies bid for the deal. Of the 10, Persol Systems put in the lowest bid of GHC17 million approximately $3.4 million.
SSNIT however gave the contract to Perfect Business Systems & Silverlake Consortium which presented an initial bid price of $27 million which was later revised to $34 million.
The Chief Executive Officer of Persol Company, Michael Quarshie on the Citi Breakfast Show said his outfit was compelled to reduce its prices because it thought SSNIT could not afford expensive deals.
Mr. Quarshie said despite their efforts, SSNIT opted for a much more expensive project with another company, a situation he believes is disappointing.
“SAP software actually even cost more but it did something unqiue in this particular instance. We felt that they had been in this country , they did not have a footprint in the public sector so they gave a massive discount on this deal and they pushed all the partners who would be working on this deal to cut down on our margins.
“They [SAP] even influenced Oberthur to drop their prices. Now though, thanks to SSNIT, what they have communicated to SAP is that SSNIT has a lot more money. They [SAP] thought Ghana did not have money and they gave Africa pricing and even discounted it massively and they pushed us all to cut our margins but right now we know the government of Ghana has 72 million dollars.”
SSNIT settled for the $72 million OBS software to automate all the core processes in the administration of pension although it received tenders to undertake the project at much cheaper prices including $9 million.
The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) is currently investigating five officials of SSNIT for their alleged involvement in the acquisition of the software.
Reports say the software was to network all branches of SSNIT across the country to enable them to receive real time data directly to the headquarters in Accra and enhance efficiency.