South Wales Evening Post - 14 July 2007
Capgemini, the company behind Swansea Council's controversial £83 million computer scheme, has asked for more time before giving evidence to a panel of councillors.
The Swansea IT firm had been invited to attend a performance scrutiny board meeting at Swansea Council to answer questions about why multi-million pound saving targets are not being met.
The scheme, which updated software systems and provided new IT equipment, was designed to make around £17 million of savings over the 10-year life of the contract. But after less than a year of operation the new systems are nowhere near that mark and may struggle to break even.
An external audit for the council discovered a number of mistakes in the way the contract was awarded. Audit firm PricewaterhouseCooper said not enough was done to get the best deal for Swansea taxpayers.
Councillor Rene Kinzett, who is chairman of the scrutiny panel, said: "Capgemini was unable to attend the last meeting and has asked for more time to consider the questions that have been posed and to prepare. The company has now given a commitment to send representatives to the board's meeting in August.
"The scrutiny board is set to release its findings in September.
