Net1 Requested by SASSA to Extend Validity of Bid Proposal to End September 2008
30 Juni 2008 - 10:05PM
Marketwired
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA ("Net1" or the "Company") today
announced that it has received a Bidders Notice from the South
African Social Security Agency ("SASSA") advising bidders that the
process of evaluating bidders' proposals and finalizing the
adjudication of the SASSA tender has not been completed. Bidders
have been advised that the Evaluation Committee appointed to
evaluate the bid proposals has submitted its recommendations to an
Adjudication Committee for consideration, and that the Adjudication
Committee is currently in the process of reviewing the
recommendations of the Evaluation Committee in order to provide a
recommendation to the Chief Executive Officer of SASSA on the
preferred bidder(s) for each province.
SASSA has advised that this process will not be completed by
June 30, 2008 when the validity of current bid proposals will
expire and has asked all bidders to again extend the validity
period of their bid proposals to September 30, 2008. This is the
third such extension, which follows extensions granted in January
and March 2008.
Net1 has responded in writing stating that the Company is
prepared to extend the validity period of its bid proposal to
September 30, 2008 but that the Company will seek legal guidance
from the South African High Court to ensure the timely and orderly
conclusion of the tender evaluation process.
"We continue to fulfill our existing obligations to SASSA with
the utmost professionalism and work ethic," said Dr. Serge C.P.
Belamant, Chairman and CEO of Net1. "This tender is one of the
largest ever issued in South Africa, which outcome will affect more
than ten million South Africans and we understand the need for a
thorough and rigorous review process, including the appointment of
the Adjudication Committee which was not foreseen as part of the
original tender process. We will therefore continue to engage with
SASSA and assist them in all respects, including seeking
independent legal guidance, in order to achieve a conclusive and
sustainable outcome," concluded Belamant.
Existing service level agreements ("SLAs") were previously
extended on March 31, 2008. The SLAs have been extended by 12
months to March 31, 2009.
SASSA reserves the right to terminate any of the SLAs on 30 days
written notice, but only after an initial period of six months
which ends on September 30, 2008.
About Net1 (www.net1ueps.com)
Net1 provides its universal electronic payment system, or UEPS,
as an alternative payment system for the unbanked and under-banked
populations of developing economies. The Company believes that it
is the first company worldwide to implement a system that can
enable the estimated four billion people who generally have limited
or no access to a bank account to enter affordably into electronic
transactions with each other, government agencies, employers,
merchants and other financial service providers. To accomplish
this, the Company has developed and deployed the UEPS. This system
uses secure smart cards that operate in real-time but offline,
unlike traditional payment systems offered by major banking
institutions that require immediate access through a communications
network to a centralized computer. This offline capability means
that users of Net1's system can enter into transactions at any time
with other cardholders in even the most remote areas so long as a
portable offline smart card reader is available. In addition to
payments and purchases, Net1's system can be used for banking,
health care management, international money transfers, voting and
identification.
The Company also focuses on the development and provision of
secure transaction technology, solutions and services. The
Company's core competencies around secure online transaction
processing, cryptography and integrated circuit card (chip/smart
card) technologies are principally applied to electronic commerce
transactions in the telecommunications, banking, retail, petroleum
and utilities market sectors. These technologies form the
cornerstones of the "trusted transactions" environment of Prism, a
South African based subsidiary of the Company, and provide the
Company with the building blocks for developing secure end-to-end
payment solutions.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A discussion of
various factors that could cause the Company's actual results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements
are included in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise
any of these statements to reflect future circumstances or the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
NET 1 UEPS TECHNOLOGIES INC.
4th Floor, North Wing,
President Place, Cnr. Jan Smuts Avenue and Bolton Road
Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa
Contacts: Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. Ilja Graulich Vice
president investor relations +27-11-343-2019 or Mobile:
+27-83-604-0820 Email: iljag@net1ueps.co.za Net 1 UEPS Technologies
Inc. William Espley Investor Relations (604) 484-8750 or Toll Free:
1-866-412-NET1 (6381) Website: www.net1ueps.com
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