ICAC pings two former TAFE NSW execs over software deal – Software
The NSW anti-corruption watchdog has labelled two former Western Sydney TAFE execs corrupt for accepting almost $450,000 from IT consultancy Oscillosoft to promote its budgeting program.
The Unbiased Commission In opposition to Corruption (ICAC) yesterday introduced its Procedure Lancer report [pdf] into the perform of the two finance professionals at the Western Sydney Institute of TAFE.
The 3-12 months investigation observed the professionals, Hasan Mamun and Samiul Kabir, engaged in corrupt perform when they had been compensated by Oscillosoft to favour the program more than 4 a long time.
In between August 2014 and December 2018, the pair solicited and received up to $228,153 and approximately $220,435, respectively, in relation to the budgeting arranging program system, iPlan.
The iPlan system was intended to be a “band aid” for WSI TAFE, whilst the institute waited for the launch of the TAFE-huge educational arranging and built-in costing system at the end of 2014.
But it distribute to other institutes across the state, main to queries more than the unique procurement with Oscillosoft, which “did not have the ideal ICT accrediation less than the NSW government’s normal industrial framework for ICT services”.
iPlan was finally acquired by nine of the 10 TAFE NSW institutes at a price tag of $three.4 million involving January 2014 and August 2018. At the time allegations of corruption had been referred to ICAC in Could 2017, Oscillosoft had been compensated extra than $two million.
ICAC also observed that Oscillosoft directors Kazi Hassan, Ashique Ibrahim and Mohammad Suza-Ud-Dawllah “engaged in significant corrupt conduct” by facilitating the payments and presents to Mamun and Kabir.
Initial procurement
The report reported Mamun approached Oscillosoft founder Kazi Hassan, who he realized by way of the Bangladeshi neighborhood, in mid-2013 to question if he would build a program system for the TAFE.
A prototype was promptly made in a 3-to-4 thirty day period interval and offered to WSI TAFE executives in March 2014, with Mamun subsequently asked to “roll it out”.
Having said that, ICAC observed Mamun had not received 3 quotations for the operate, even with WSI TAFE obtaining compensated extra than the $thirty,000 threshold to Oscillosoft ($forty five,544) for the unique proposal.
“The Commission is content that Mr Mamun realized that he did not comply with good procurement processes when he acquired the iPlan program system,” the report reported.
“He realized that he was needed to get approval to right negotiate with a contractor and that an IT contractor need to be on the listing of ICT accredited suppliers.
“The Commission is also content that Mr Mamun deliberately dismissed and circumvented the good procurement processes in buy to engineer the sourcing of the system from Oscillosoft.”
The report also observed Mamun tried to conceal the fact that good procurement method had been not adopted by making adjustments to the Oscillosoft deal to convey it less than the $thirty,000 threshold.
iPlan spreads to other TAFEs
In mid-2014, other institutes began expressing an fascination in the iPlan system, namely the Illawarra Institute of TAFE NSW and the Western Institute of TAFE NSW.
ICAC observed in June 2014, Mamun approached Oscillosoft to set up an arrangement the place he and Kabir would obtain twenty p.c of the income if the iPlan system was bought to other TAFEs.
“He instructed the fee he asked for ‘a bit of consultancy, a bit of fee or what ever it is’ and Oscillosoft agreed,” the report reported.
Oscillosoft recognized these conditions, but not right before its founder Hassan elevated fears about a conflict of fascination with Mamun, which had been dismissed.
Mamun also knowingly signed declarations falsely declaring no conflict of fascination for the procurement in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
He now accepts that there was a conflict of fascination by accepting payments and that his perform was dishonest, ICAC reported.
Payments had been made to relatives and buddies of Mamun and Kabir, which include all-around $two hundred,000 into the account of Mamun’s wife.
The pair had been engaged as “subject subject experts” until November 2014, but Oscillosoft continued shelling out them until late 2018.
The fee was also instructed that after the first arrangement, Mamun approached Oscillosoft director Ashique Ibrahim in 2017 wanting equity in Oscillosoft.
Subsequent this technique, the organization sought legal suggestions about forming a firm with Mamun and Kabir, and was afterwards instructed this was not probable as they worked for TAFE NSW.
In spite of this legal suggestions, Oscillosoft made further payments to Mamun and Kabir in January 2018, October 2018 and December 2018 at their ask for.
Prospective prosecution
ICAC will now take into consideration acquiring the suggestions of the state Director of Community Prosecutions more than whether or not to prosecute Mamun and Kabir, as perfectly as the 3 Oscillosoft directors, for several alleged offences.
It reported “insufficient governance and the iPlan system becoming made outside the house an ICT governance framework” and “repeated non-compliance with procurement policy” contributed to the perform.
TAFE NSW has been asked to “constrain local ICT tasks that are ‘architectural exceptions’” by closing regional information centres, shifting applications and program into the TAFE NSW private cloud or a local cloud company [and] evaluating local program modules, applications and model for prerequisite and removal”.
The Commission also advised making certain “robust and measurable conditions are used… for the governance of ICT tasks by uplifting functionality to customers of venture control boards”, and that TAFE NSW build strategic group strategies that protect all ICT spend and denote which spend is significant.
