The agency said the contract will run over a period of five years at a cost of approximately R10 billion, with the winning bidder expected to distribute grants to the value of approximately R500 billion over the same period.

Up to 21 companies submitted bids for one or more of the provinces, resulting in 128 bids for evaluation.

"These bids were subjected to rigorous evaluation and adjudication in conformity with the bid document. This entailed a functionality evaluation in assessing each bid against the criteria, short-listing and financial and preference evaluation," read a statement.

It is envisaged that SASSA will, through the contract, achieve its objective of standardizing the services while allowing beneficiaries flexibility to be paid anywhere in the country.

Cash Paymaster services has been paying social grants since 2006, but it is for the first time that SASSA awards a payment contract of this nature as previously it was extended based on the provincial contracts.

"In the main, the bid outcome will achieve a realizable saving for SASSA," it said.

Over the past five years the unit costs for pension payment increased from approximately R26 in 2006/07 to R34 in 2010/2011.

In the current contract, the unit cost has been capped to R16.50 for the duration of the contract. This would bring saving of R3 billion over a contract period of five years.

Source: BUA News
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Former Mayor and Aide Sentenced in New Jersey on Corruption Charges

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The case against Ellis arose from a corruption probe focusing on Camp Arifjan, a U.S. military base in Kuwait.  As a result of this investigation, 16 individuals, including Ellis, have been charged, of which 14 have pleaded guilty.  These individuals include Ellis’s former boss and military contractor, Terry Hall, and several U.S. Army contracting officials, including former Army Majors James Momon and Christopher Murray.

According to court documents, from spring 2004 through fall 2007, Hall operated and had an interest in several companies, including Freedom Consulting and Catering Co. and Total Government Allegiance, which, at various times during this period, provided goods and services to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its components.  The goods and services were provided based on a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to deliver bottled water and a contract to construct a security fence in Kuwait and elsewhere.  A BPA is a type of contract by which the DoD agrees to pay a contractor a specified price for a particular good or service.  Based on a BPA, the DoD orders the supplies on an as-needed basis.  The contractor is then obligated to deliver the supplies ordered at the price agreed upon in the BPA.  The term for such an order by the DoD is a “call.”

According to court documents, Ellis was Hall’s most senior employee.  In that role, she was responsible for serving as the liaison between Hall and U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at Camp Arifjan.  Ellis admitted that she participated in the bribery scheme by providing Momon and Murray access to secret bank accounts established on their behalf in the Philippines to enable Hall and others to transfer bribe payments to them.  Ellis also admitted that, to further Hall’s unlawful dealings with Momon, she obtained confidential Army contract pricing information from Momon that was designed to give Hall an unlawful advantage in the bidding process for an ice contract from the DoD.

According to court documents, Hall obtained the calls made under the bottled water BPA and the fence contract by bribing certain U.S. Army contracting officers, including, among others, Momon and Murray.  Assisted by Ellis, Hall paid Momon approximately $330,000 and Murray approximately $30,000.  In exchange for these bribe payments, Momon arranged for the DoD to pay Hall’s companies more than $6.4 million based on calls for bottled water, and Murray arranged for the DoD to pay Hall to construct security fencing.

On Feb. 18, 2010, Hall pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy and agreed to forfeit $15.7 million to the U.S. government in connection with his payment of more than $3 million in bribes to former U.S. Army Majors John Cockerham, Eddie Pressley, Momon and Murray.

On Aug. 13, 2009, Momon pleaded guilty to receiving approximately $1.6 million in bribes and agreed to pay $5.7 million in restitution.  On Jan. 8, 2009, Murray pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and making a false statement.  He was sentenced on Dec. 17, 2009, to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $245,000 in restitution.

On Jan. 31, 2008, Cockerham pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery and money laundering scheme at Camp Arifjan.  He was sentenced on Dec. 2, 2009, to 210 months in prison and ordered to pay $9.6 million in restitution.

The case against Hall’s co-defendants, Eddie Pressley and his wife, Eurica Pressley, is scheduled for trial Jan. 31, 2011, in Decatur, Ala.  These defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Edward J. Loya, Jr. and Peter C. Sprung of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.  The case is being investigated by special agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Army Criminal Investigation Command Division, the FBI and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
Source: Department of Justice

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The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, charges Sean T. Brehm, 44, of Western Cape, South Africa, with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm and without just cause or excuse, and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to the indictment, the stabbing took place on November 25, 2010. The indictment alleges that at the time of the stabbing, Brehm was working as a contractor for DynCorp International LLC, a U.S. Army contractor in Afghanistan. Brehm originally was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., on December 9, 2010.  U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis ruled on December 10, 2010, that Brehm be removed to the United States, and he arrived on December 21, 2010, at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm and without just cause or excuse, and 10 years in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

The defendant is charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), a statute that gives U.S. courts jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside the United States by, among others, contractors or subcontractors of the Department of Defense.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr., for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

An indictment is merely a formal accusation. It is not proof of guilt, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: Department of Justice

Net News Publisher for American News

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The patients were moved this weekend to other hospitals in the province so they could be attended to. Doctors decided to delay non-emergency operations as the cooling system failure affected theatres.

The Department of Infrastructure Development has in the meantime appointed a contractor to do the repairs, which could take up to two weeks.

Health and Social Development MEC Ntombi Mekgwe paid a surprise visit to the hospital on Friday to see what was being done about the problem.

The process of transferring the patients started with a patient with neck injuries, who was airlifted to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, with four others being transferred by ambulance.  Other patients were transferred to Steve Biko Hospital in Tshwane.

The department has placed four regional hospitals on standby to assist Tembisa if need be.

Source: BUA News

African News from NetNewsPublisher.com

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“No fund was drawn from the state budget. We have paid courtesy of a legal system called a payment in kind provided in our labor code. This payment is neither a sale nor a barter”, he told reporters.

“In the payment in kind system, there is no cash transaction”. President Wade said at the presidential palace on Friday while meeting the country’s MPs, Senators and members of the Economic and Social Council.

“Certain people confuse price with value. In fact, even if the monument costs no franc, its value exceeds 20 or 30 billion CFA francs if erected”, he opined.

The Monument of African Renaissance is an imposing bronze structure under construction in the Ouakam local government area of Dakar, on one of the conic hills called “Les Mamelles” overlooking the Senegalese capital.

According to President Wade, the 53-meter monument shows a couple and their offspring and embodies “Africa soaring from obscurantism to the shining light”.

A North Korean company is the contractor of this monument estimated to cost 13 billion CFA francs. Started in 2008, the inauguration is scheduled for 4 April which marks the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.

Source African Press Agency

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According to court documents, Brown has worked full-time for the State Department since Sept. 1995 as a file clerk and a file assistant in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. In pleading guilty, Brown admitted that she had access to official State Department computer databases in the regular course of her job, including the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which contains all imaged passport applications dating back to 1994. The imaged passport applications on PIERS contain, among other things, a photograph of the passport applicant as well as certain personal information including the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, current address, telephone numbers, parent information, spouse’s name and emergency contact information. These confidential files are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, and access by State Department employees is strictly limited to official government duties.

Brown admitted that between Mar. 25, 2005, and Feb. 7, 2008, she logged onto the PIERS database and repeatedly searched for and viewed the passport applications of more than 60 celebrities and their families, actors, comedians, professional athletes, musicians, other individuals identified in the press, and personal friends and acquaintances. Brown admitted that she had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that her sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.

Brown is the ninth current or former State Department employee or contractor to plead guilty in this continuing investigation. On Sept. 22, 2008, Lawrence C. Yontz, a former Foreign Service Officer and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 200 confidential passport files. Yontz was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2008, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Jan. 14, 2009, Dwayne F. Cross, a former administrative assistant and contract specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 150 confidential passport files. Cross was sentenced on March 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Jan. 27, 2009, Gerald R. Lueders, a former Foreign Service Officer, watch officer and recruitment coordinator, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 50 confidential passport files. Lueders was sentenced on July 8, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. On July 10, 2009, William A. Celey, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 75 confidential passport files. Celey was sentenced on Oct. 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Aug. 17, 2009, Kevin M. Young, a contact representative, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 125 confidential passport files. Young was sentenced on Dec. 9, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Aug. 26, 2009, Karal Busch, a former citizens services specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 65 confidential passport files. Busch is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2009. On Oct. 27, 2009, Yvette M. Burrison, a passport specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 100 confidential passport files. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for Burrison. On Nov. 9, 2009, Susan Holloman, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing 70 confidential passport files. Holloman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2010.

These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The cases are being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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According to court documents, Holloman has worked full-time for the State Department since November 1980 as a file assistant in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. In pleading guilty, Holloman admitted that she had access to official State Department computer databases in the regular course of her job, including the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which contains all imaged passport applications dating back to 1994. The imaged passport applications on PIERS contain, among other things, a photograph of the passport applicant as well as certain personal information including the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, current address, telephone numbers, parent information, spouse’s name and emergency contact information. These confidential files are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, and access by State Department employees is strictly limited to official government duties.

Holloman admitted that between Feb. 13 and Dec. 5, 2007, she logged onto the PIERS database and repeatedly searched for and viewed the passport applications of 70 celebrities and their families, actors, professional athletes, musicians and other individuals identified in the press. Holloman admitted that she had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that her sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.

Holloman is the eighth current or former State Department employee or contractor to plead guilty in this continuing investigation. On Sept. 22, 2008, Lawrence C. Yontz, a former Foreign Service Officer and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 200 confidential passport files. Yontz was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2008, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Jan. 14, 2009, Dwayne F. Cross, a former administrative assistant and contract specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 150 confidential passport files. Cross was sentenced on March 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Jan. 27, 2009, Gerald R. Lueders, a former Foreign Service Officer, watch officer and recruitment coordinator, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 50 confidential passport files. Lueders was sentenced on July 8, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. On July 10, 2009, William A. Celey, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 75 confidential passport files. Celey was sentenced on Oct. 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Aug. 17, 2009, Kevin M. Young, a contact representative, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 125 confidential passport files. Young is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9, 2009. On Aug. 26, 2009, Karal Busch, a former citizens services specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 65 confidential passport files. Busch is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2009. On Oct. 28, 2009, Yvette M. Burrison, a passport specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 100 confidential passport files. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for Burrison.

These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The cases are being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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According to the charges, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Ana C. Chavez accepted $90,000 in cash and wire transfers as a bribe from a DOD contractor in return for Chavez exercising her influence at the Transportation Operations Support Office in the award of DOD contracts and work orders to that contractor’s company. Chavez gave a portion of the bribe proceeds to another DOD contractor working at Bagram Airfield, with whom she conspired to launder the money through various bank accounts held by Chavez’s associates in the United States. According to the court documents, the alleged conduct began at least in or about February 2005 and continued until September 2006.

Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. A violation of the bribery statute carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or three times the value of the bribe. A violation of the money laundering conspiracy statute carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds. The maximum fine could be increased to twice the gain derived from the crimes or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crimes if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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The crawler-transporter left Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building at 1:39 a.m., traveling less than 1 mph during the 4.2-mile journey. The rocket was secured on the launch pad at 9:17 a.m.

The vehicle is scheduled to launch at 8 a.m. on Oct. 27. This test flight of the Ares I-X rocket will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, models, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I launch vehicle.

The Ares I rocket is being designed to carry astronauts to space in the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The Ares I-X test flight also will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the vehicle’s integrated stack, which includes the Ares I with a simulated upper stage, Orion and launch abort system. Data collected from more than 700 sensors throughout the rocket will begin to confirm the vehicle as a whole is safe and stable in flight before astronauts begin traveling into orbit.

“With the arrival of Ares I-X at the pad, this milestone demonstrates NASA’s world-class ability to conceptually design, build and process a new launch vehicle in just under four years,” said Bob Ess, mission manager for Ares I-X at Kennedy. “Nearly 2,000 NASA and contractor employees located throughout the United States worked together in an unprecedented fashion, resulting in the new vehicle ready for flight.”

During the week before launch, technicians at the pad will perform a variety of electrical and mechanical checks to ready the vehicle for flight, including hydraulic power unit hot fire, steering tests and internal power verifications using flight batteries.

United Space Alliance of Houston is NASA’s prime contractor for the ground processing of the Ares I-X rocket.

“Processing for the Ares I-X test flight in parallel with space shuttle operations has been a true challenge involving people and hardware from across the country, and we’re very proud of what the team has accomplished,” said Mark Nappi, vice president of Launch and Recovery Systems for United Space Alliance.

ATK Space Systems of Magna, Utah, is NASA’s prime contractor for the first stage of the rocket.

“The NASA and contractor teamwork displayed over the last four years has been the catalyst that brought us to this important milestone today,” said Bob Herman, ATK’s vice president of Exploration Systems for Kennedy Space Center Operations. “As the Ares I first stage provider, we are looking forward to receiving invaluable data during the flight test.”

At the Flight Test Readiness Review on Oct. 23, mission managers will finalize the launch date and provide the team with a final “go” or “no go” for launch.

Ares I-X is an un-crewed, sub-orbital development test in a modified Ares I configuration. Ares I-X is the first developmental flight test of the Constellation Program, which includes the Ares I and V rockets, Orion and the Altair lunar lander.

Source: NASA

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The seven airports are Frank Wiley Field (MLS); Sidney Richland Regional (SDY); Dawson Community Airport (GDV); L.M. Clayton Airport (OLF); Wokal Field (GGW); Havre City County Airport (HVR ); and Lewiston Municipal Airport (LWT ).

“The SPP program enables TSA to partner with qualified private companies to provide screening services under federal oversight,” said Dan Fevold, TSA Federal Security Director for the state of Montana. “TSA has contracted with Trinity Technology Group at other SPP airports, and we look forward to a strong partnership in Montana as well.”

This competitively awarded contract is for security screening services for both the passenger checkpoint and checked baggage operations. The total contract award value, including options, is $10,947,820. The period of performance is from Aug. 24, 2009 to Aug. 23, 2014. Under SPP, the federal security director for the state of Montana will remain responsible for overseeing TSA security standards and contractor performance at all airports, including the seven participating in SPP.

SPP is designed to meet the requirement for the “opt-out” program established in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) of 2001. Beginning in 2002, ATSA required TSA to conduct a SPP pilot program at five airports (known as the “PP5″). When the pilot program ended in November 2004, airport operators with federal screening services could apply to SPP.

To date, the original PP5 airports are participating in SPP. These include San Francisco International; Kansas City International; Greater Rochester (N.Y.) International; Jackson Hole (Wyo.); and Tupelo (Miss.) Regional. In addition, Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls, S.D., Key West (Fla.) International Airport, the Roswell International Air Center, and the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County (Calif.) Airport are operating under SPP. TSA also has contracted with US Helicopter Corporation and McNeil Security, Inc., for screening operations to support airport shuttle services at the East 34th Street Heliport in New York City.

Source: Transportation Security Administration

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The final segments of the Ares I-X were stacked on Aug. 13, completing the 327-foot launch vehicle and providing the first look at the finished rocket’s distinctive shape. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for Oct. 31.

“More than three years of hard work with the NASA and contractor team has brought us to this historic moment,” said Bob Ess, Ares I-X mission manager. “This flight test is a critical step in continuing our design process for the Ares vehicle and the first flight for the Constellation Program.”

The Ares I-X is wired with more than 700 sensors to gather data during the two-and-a-half minute flight test. The launch will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The data collected during the launch will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion spacecraft and the Ares I rocket.

Now that the Ares I-X is assembled, numerous evaluations will be run on all the rocket systems, including complex instruments that will constantly measure the vehicle’s movements as it launches and the first stage separates. The evaluations include a process called “modal testing,” which will shake the stack slightly to test stiffness of the rocket, including the pinned and bolted joints.

Source: NASA

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