ASATA raises concerns over TMC contract conditions

ASATA has raised concerns over the conditions of contract for TMC services released by National Treasury earlier this month.  The document will deliver much needed clarity on the way forward for TMCs and Travel Agents when tendering for government contracts.

ASATA has asked government to be involved in assisting with the process and has highlighted the following concerns:

  • The re-imbursement of all supplier revenue to government will place unnecessary pressure on the industry and the erosion of this revenue will prove detrimental. This is something that could be averted if managed correctly.
  • The possibility that National Treasury are looking to appoint a GDS in the future that would have to be used, if a TMC is on a pre-qualified panel, is a major risk for the TMCs who currently work on different GDSs. Many operate on multi-year contracts which will be affected should government choose to proceed with this.
  • There are several technology, reporting, and value-added service requirements that would exclude a number of smaller TMCs and businesses from tendering.
  • It is still unclear how many TMCs will be accepted on each panel per Province. There are a multitude of small and medium enterprises that today enjoy the opportunity to tender for government travel contracts, which may be excluded.

 

ASATA asserts that these issues may see many businesses being forced to close and job losses, and has requested an opportunity to complete an impact assessment to establish the true magnitude of this situation.

ASATA has also asked National Treasury to indicate exactly where government intends to show real savings and how the methodology of obtaining savings will actually benefit them.

We remind Members that those wishing to submit Requests for Proposals to pre-qualify for panels of Travel Management Companies on both a National and a Provisional level, do so by no later than the closing date of 05 August 2016 at 11h00

Details can be found on the following link, that was provided to you via our newsletter 01 July 2016

http://www.etenders.gov.za/content/appointment-travel-management-companies-provide-travel-management-services-government

Please note: the tender documents can be found under the “Tender Documents” tab, next to the “Contacts” tab, just below the heading “Tender Information”