Corruption Watchdog

The New Companies Act - Cipro collapse?

2010-07-31T01:00:00.000+02:00

taken from: http://www.iweek.co.za/ViewStory.asp?StoryID=210510

Cipro collapse?

Author:
Martin Czernowalow
Issued:
28 Jul 2010

A total failure could devastate business

As well publicised and openly discussed the problems surrounding the Companies and Intellectual Properties Registration Office (Cipro) may be, even more seems to be unknown, either obscured by politicking, incompetence or lack of will to get to the root of the problem. Whatever the forces at play, the one clear loser is the South African economy, which faces potentially dire consequences if this key government agency is allowed to flounder.

Cipro collapse?

It is difficult to ascertain the exact economic impact the functional collapse of Cipro would have, but the initial cracks are already showing. For starters, the dysfunctional registration system is making life impossible for small business owners, who are finding their businesses - without warning - being deregistered from the Cipro database. With this come the complications of frozen bank accounts and the resultant inability to trade as a business.

In March, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants issued a warning that Cipro's "paralysis threatens the economy on several fronts, most notably in the inability of companies and close corporations (CCs) to continue operating within the confines of corporate legislation". The institute pointed out that "not only are new companies and CCs unable to obtain the registrations required to commence trading, existing businesses are unable to comply with the laws that require them to register certain corporate events with Cipro."

These problems first surfaced in October last year and Cipro assured businesses that a fix was in the pipeline. The problem, it said, was its outdated IT system, which was in the process of being updated. Few would have guessed then that "fix" - a R153 million contract to install a new end-to-end enterprise content management (ECM) system at the agency - would, in fact, prove to be the proverbial final nail in the coffin of Cipro.

CONTENTIOUS FROM THE START

What happened next is well documented. The ECM contract was awarded in February 2009 to a little-known company called Valor IT, a decision that was immediately challenged by BEE company Mantra Consulting, which called on Cipro to suspend the contract. Mantra alleged that it had worked on the bid with Valor IT and the latter had failed to meet its contractual obligations, which would result in court action. Cipro responded by refusing to pull the plug on the contract, saying the Valor IT-Mantra issue was a mere contractual dispute between the two that would not influence the Cipro ECM implementation.

However, Valor IT's snub of Mantra, which later emerged to have been to the tune of some R10 million in "consultation fees", was a fateful decision that blew the lid off the festering cesspool that was bubbling under Cipro. The subsequent flow of information about fraudulent activities, irregular dealings and tender-rigging, purportedly emanating from the Mantra Consulting camp, eventually raised several high up red flags, prompting the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), under whose auspices Cipro falls, to take a closer look.

Rob Davies

Trade and industry minister Rob Davies, with pressure from official opposition the Democratic Alliance (DA), called in independent forensic investigators Specialised Services Group (SSG) to conduct an investigation and compile a report on the way the ECM tender was handled. It was at this point that Davies was hailed as the man of the moment; finally, a minister who was serious about stamping out corruption and who could be counted on to clean up the mess at Cipro.

The SSG probe promptly resulted in the suspension of Cipro CEO Keith Sendwe and CIO Michael Twum-Darko in connection tender irregularities, more specifically for rigging the R153 million ECM tender that was awarded to Valor IT. But it emerged that the SSG investigation was not without its own challenges, with several sources, including the DA, publicly citing high-level interference from within the DTI. This interference was said to have extended to ministerial level, with Davies purportedly being pressured to end the investigation and bury any subsequent findings.

While SSG was allowed to finish its investigation, Davies sought legal opinion on keeping a firm lid on the report that was handed to him in May this year, and announced that it would not be released publicly. Even though the full findings of the report may not ever see the light of day, results of an Auditor-General's report into the tender - concluded at the beginning of the year - did indicate that Valor IT had been paid R56 million in February last year, 10 days after having been awarded the entire contract, when it had dropped off a box of CDs and an invoice at Cipro's offices. The CDs were meant to have contained software that was needed to develop the ECM system.

In May, Davies commented that this on its own should have raised a red flag. He said steps had been taken to ensure any monies paid would remain in the country. "This was a system that was going to deal with white-collar crime. Its integrity is absolutely fundamental."

The findings of the forensic investigation also prompted Davies to cancel the contract last month, eliciting an immediate legal challenge from Valor IT. Furthermore, Davies announced that Sendwe and Twum-Darko would not only face internal disciplinary action, but possibly also criminal charges.

BUT WHAT ABOUT BUSINESS?

However, in the frenzied spate of legal action surrounding the Cipro debacle - Mantra Consulting earlier this year successfully sued Valor IT for at least some of the outstanding "consultation" fees, and Valor IT frantically applied for urgent interdicts to stop being barred from Cipro's premises - the core functions of Cipro and the interests of the business community it is meant to serve seem to have fallen by the wayside.

It has now become glaringly obvious that Cipro's readiness to implement the new Companies Act, to come into effect in October, is a physical impossibility. Work on the new ECM system has stopped and is unlikely to commence before the current Valor IT legal challenge against the minister's decision is finalised - and this could take months. Should the court uphold the DTI's decision to pull the plug on the contract - enough prima facia evidence exists to show that this will be the most likely outcome - Cipro will have to go back to the drawing board and put the contract out to tender. Confounding the matter is that Faritec, a strong contender for the original ECM contract, with a bid of R90 million lower than the winning tender from Valor IT, recently liquidated its biggest operating entity. It is thus unlikely that Faritec would be in a position to step in and rescue the situation.

Again, the South African business community is the clear loser. If Cipro fails to meet this deadline, it will not be able to cater for the functions of the new Companies Act, which requires the agency to amend company registration forms that will simplify the process. In addition, the new Act makes provision for changes to electronic processes in terms of name reservations, registration of companies and the compliance regarding accounting officers. A failure to get the systems up and running in time could have disastrous consequences for the economy. New companies may not be able to register, and existing ones could find themselves unable to implement empowerment deals as they cannot change company details. Moreover, investors could decide not to invest in SA, because they may see the company registration process as too cumbersome, unreliable and open to abuse.

Alarmingly, it seems that there is no contingency plan. Last month, Elsab Conradie, Cipro's head of communication, marketing and stakeholder relations, confirmed that development of the new IT system has stopped. She said the office is looking at a few options and, once it has decided on a way forward, the DTI would have to sanction its solution. "The sooner we find the best solution, the better."

Cipro is moving into a completely electronic environment, which is a requirement of the new Act, and needs to be ready for when the law comes into being. "We are working very hard to get everything ready," she said. "Cipro's current systems are legacy systems and, although they have been upgraded, they do not have the capability or integration capacity to cater for the new functions [of the Companies Act]," she conceded.

But it gets even more worrying. The SSG investigation uncovered a link between international terrorism and the fraudulent activities at Cipro. It is understood that various South African security agencies are investigating the possibility that Pakistani terrorists have cashed in on the corruption at Cipro, stealing millions of rands from government to fund international terrorist activities. Minister of police Nathi Mthethwa confirmed that police are looking into the evidence, working closely with the National Intelligence Agency, the South African Secret Service, as well as the US embassy.

The investigation is focused on tax fraud, money laundering, racketeering, organised crime, fraud and financing of international terrorism. A Pakistani national, in custody in Gauteng, is alleged to be involved in the "cloning" of legitimate companies, including the well-documented case of Sun Microsystems, in a scam to divert R144 million in tax refunds from the South African Revenue Service. Five Cipro officials were suspended last year in connection with the case, but that was before the terrorism link was exposed. Investigations are ongoing, but the DTI has thus far been very tight-lipped about this particular probe. This can only have severely negative consequences for the economy, investor confidence and the health of South Africa's business landscape.

WHERE IS THE MINISTER?

Three months after the SSG forensic probe blew the lid off shenanigans at Cipro, government's intervention seems to have stalled under the burden of red tape, purported political interference and legal action.

Conspicuously silent is Davies, who was initially hailed by industry observers and political commentators as one of the few ministers in government who could make a difference. However, his credibility has subsequently suffered, as his tough stance on Cipro seems to have garnered little real rewards bar the suspension of the agency's CEO and CIO. It has been weeks since Davies has made any mention of Cipro whatsoever and this has done little to reassure business.

Sendwe and Twum-Darko were meant to find out what charges they faced at the end of May. However, the DTI now says the legal team has not even finalised the charges, nor could it say when these would be filed, despite the minister announcing to Parliament almost three months ago that the two could be criminally charged.

Despite Davies' earlier assurances, Cipro lies in tatters and the public is still none the wiser as to what steps he has taken, or will take, to clean up the agency. At this point, it would appear that there is no plan, and South African business is skating on dangerously thin ice. A total collapse of Cipro, which now seems imminent, could severely damage the ability to do business in South Africa, with potentially devastating consequences for the economy.

Cipro scrambles | ITWeb

2010-06-23T19:23:00.000+02:00

Cipro scrambles | ITWeb

Cipro scrambles

POST YOUR COMMENT

By Nicola Mawson, ITWeb senior journalist.
Johannesburg, 23 Jun 2010

Trade and industry minister Rob Davies needs to reassure the public that Cipro is on track, says an analyst.

The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) is furiously trying to find a solution to get its cancelled IT overhaul project back on track.

The office has to have an enterprise content management (ECM) system in place by October when the new Companies Act comes into play. If it fails to meet this deadline, it will not be able to cater for the functions of the new Companies Act, which requires the agency to amend company registration forms that will simplify the process.

In addition, the new Act makes provision for changes to electronic processes in terms of name reservations, registration of companies and the compliance regarding accounting officers.

If Cipro fails to get new systems up and running in time, there could be disastrous consequences for the economy. New companies may not be able to register, and existing ones could find themselves unable to implement empowerment deals as they cannot change company details.

Moreover, investors could decide not to invest in SA, because they may see the company registration process as too cumbersome, unreliable and open to abuse.

The Department of Trade and Industry pulled the plug on Valor IT's contract last week to install the new system, and work on the R153 million contract came to a grinding halt. Valor IT is set to take the DTI to court next Wednesday in a bid to have the contract declared valid, which could delay implementation even further.

A forensic investigation earlier this year into the awarding of the contract to Valor IT resulted in the suspension of Cipro CEO Keith Sendwe and CIO Michael Twum-Darko. The department has not responded to a query as to whether the two have been criminally charged.

Looking for options

Elsabé Conradie, Cipro's head of communication, marketing and stakeholder relations, says development of the new IT system has stopped. The ECM system is intended to replace the current manual process of registering a company, close corporation or cooperative.

Conradie says the office is looking at a few options and once it has decided on a way forward, the department will have to sanction its solution. “The sooner we find the best solution, the better.”

Cipro is moving into a completely electronic environment, which is a requirement of the new Act, and needs to be ready for when the law comes into being. “We are working very hard to get everything ready,” she says.

“Cipro's current systems are legacy systems and, although they have been upgraded, they do not have the capability or integration capacity to cater for the new functions [of the Companies Act],” she explains.

Among the changes the Act will usher in is simplified registration of new companies. In addition, electronic processes, such as name reservations, registration of companies and compliance regarding accounting officers, will all have to change in accordance with the new Act.

Back to square one

The Democratic Alliance says Cipro may have to go all the way back to tender stage, and the ECM system could take another year to be put into place.

Andricus van der Westhuizen, shadow minister of trade and industry, says he doubts Cipro will have the IT upgrade in place by October. He says the director-general has informed him the process will go all the way back to tender.

Van der Westhuizen says the new system is a necessity as the current legacy one is susceptible to fraud, and the manual processes result in delays for amendments and registrations.

In addition, he says, the new Act places more responsibilities on Cipro. Van der Westhuizen says the body is already not coping with its workload, and queries how it will cope with additional tasks.

The new Act will require Cipro, after its merger with the Office of Companies and Intellectual Property Enforcement to form the commission, to enforce the Act, conduct investigations and inspections, resolve disputes and do research.

Van der Westhuizen is concerned the Cipro brouhaha will turn investors away from the country, as they will not have any faith in the government's ability to eliminate fraud at the very body that is meant to make sure companies stick to the law. “It could turn millions of rands in investment away.”

Problematic

Chris Gilmour, Absa Investments analyst, expects the delays in implementing the new system to result in companies not being able to register, or make amendments to information such as to appoint new directors.

He says the situation is a “major impediment” to economic growth, as the very companies government is relying on to create jobs will not be able to register – and will not be able to operate. “Any company beyond a certain size must be registered.”

In addition, says Gilmour, the current system Cipro has in place is open to abuse. He points to issues such as the duplication of companies on its database, and the challenges companies face when trying to use the Cipro Web site as examples of issues that plague the office.

“If your companies' database is as corrupt and as inefficiently administered as it appears to be the case, then all sorts of problems could occur.”

Gilmour says South African companies face the risk of corporate identity theft, as well as concerns that economic indicators could be skewed because there is no accurate information on how many firms are active in SA, how many new registrations are taking place and whether companies are folding.

He says Davies needs to assure the public that the office is being cleaned up and that measures are being put in place to make sure it runs efficiently.

In addition, says Gilmour, Cipro is meant to be the custodian of good corporate governance in SA, yet it is “in a mess itself”. “Cipro must be seen in a very good light. It's got to walk the talk, but if it has poor IT systems, it is starting with one hand tied behind its back,” he says.

Corruption at Cipro 'funds global terror'

2010-06-04T13:33:00.000+02:00

This article taken from

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article440305.ece/Corruption-at-Cipro-funds-global-terror

Forensic report rings alarm bells on Pakistani connection to fraud

May 9, 2010 12:00 AM | By NKULULEKO NCANA and ANTON FERREIRA

Security agencies are probing startling charges that Pakistani criminals, taking advantage of corruption and chaos within the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro), have stolen millions of rands from the government to fund terrorism.

A report into Cipro by forensic investigators, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), says "numerous" Pakistanis were involved in the scheme, which relied on corrupt officials within the organisation.

The report, which has been seen by the Sunday Times, is now in the hands of the minister of trade and industry, Rob Davies, who said its findings had been passed on to law-enforcement agencies to investigate.

Minister of police Nathi Mthethwa said this week: "Police are dealing with it, not only police - the security establishment is on it (the report). It's the entire team."

The report states: "It is established that SAPS crime intelligence, SASS (South African Secret Service) and the NIA (National Intelligence Agency), along with the US embassy, are vigorously engaged in gathering intelligence on possible terrorism links."

It goes on to say: "The investigations around this particular case centre on tax fraud, money laundering, racketeering, organised crime, fraud and financing of international terrorism."

A Pakistani now in custody in Gauteng, Aliraza Siyed Naqvi, is suspected of involvement in the "cloning" of legitimate companies, including Sun Microsystems, in a scheme to steal R144-million in tax refunds from SARS.

Some details of the fraud were revealed last year, when at least five Cipro officials were suspended, but it has now emerged that much of the money involved could have funded international terror.

The forensic report lays bare how corruption within Cipro and other government agencies had turned South Africa into a happy hunting ground for criminals across the world, who use false identities and fake companies to circumvent international curbs on money laundering.

SARS spokesman Siba Mfabe said West Africans were involved, along with Pakistanis, in the company-cloning scheme uncovered last year, using "quite a sophisticated level of different skills".

"The revenue service is considered quite a cash-rich target on the continent," he said. "International syndicates are constantly a problem, and they offer very lucrative bribes as well."

Revelations of the cancer within Cipro, whose integrity and efficiency are vital to the smooth running of the country's economy, have sparked infighting at the top levels of the DTI.

The report said the Pakistanis involved used fake South African identity documents from the Department of Home Affairs.

A possible link between Naqvi and groups involved in sectarian violence in Pakistan has been identified through his brother, Asad Abbas Naqvi, who was murdered in South Africa in December 2008.

A man of the same name is listed as "a very dangerous terrorist" by authorities in the Pakistani province of Punjab.

Davies said last month the private forensic probe had been halted in March after it drew a "broad picture" of the problems at Cipro.

He said at the time he was seeking legal advice on how to proceed because of the potential of major litigation, and efforts were under way to "purify" the data held by Cipro.

The private forensic report estimated that up to 285000 fake or dubious companies had been created through abuse of the Cipro system.

In the Sun Microsystems case, the Pakistani suspects used agencies that specialise in dealing with Cipro to register a fake company with the same name and its own bank account.

With the probable help of corrupt officials in SARS, R17-million in tax refunds owing to the legitimate Sun Microsystems was diverted into the bank account of the fake company.

Sun Microsystems' financial director, Steven Stalley, said the parent company's attorneys had issued instructions that no one should discuss the issue.

The forensic report said nearly 60 Cipro employees had been identified as being involved in suspicious activities.

Investigators seize Cipro data

2010-03-12T14:01:00.001+02:00

This article taken from
Investigators seize Cipro data
http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31256:investigators-seize-cipro-data&catid=160:it-in-government
By Martin Czernowalow and Candice Jones, ITWeb Online editor
Johannesburg, 12 Mar 2010

The Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI's) ministerial investigation team this week seized further evidence from the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro), as the probe into a R153 million IT tender deepens.

Last Friday, Cipro CIO Michael Twum-Darko was placed on special leave, amid allegations of tender rigging. Well-placed sources also claim the investigation could reveal details of another scam at Cipro, which involves the creation of false companies in the Cipro database, to defraud the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of VAT.

The latter could potentially have widespread negative implications for SA's economy, as records of active companies are used as a measure of economic growth and performance.

It appears the police were not involved in the seizure of Cipro's records; however, it is likely the SARS investigation team was involved. The revenue service could not confirm its involvement at the time of publication.

Court action
The controversial electronic content management (ECM) tender was awarded to ValorIT, in March last year, and was shortly thereafter challenged in court by Mantra Consulting, which charged that ValorIT had failed to hand over R10 million in consultancy fees. Mantra Consulting was earlier contracted by ValorIT to provide consulting services and ensure ValorIT won the tender bid.

Speculation that confidential Cipro information, relating to bid specifications and pricing, had been handed over to ValorIT, to give it an advantage over rival bidders, dogged the tender from the start. Cipro previously steadfastly refused Mantra Consulting's request to scrap the tender.

Cipro head of communications Elsabe Conradie denied the police raided the organisation's office on Wednesday, as claimed by some sources. This is despite telephones going unanswered at Cipro's Pretoria office on Wednesday afternoon.

Instead, Conradie says the investigating team requested access to Cipro's database and e-mail systems. “Cipro did not stop doing business or close offices. We are running the business as usual,” she states.

Conradie confirms the DTI-appointed investigation team, which includes members from an independent specialist investigation firm, is probing “possible fraud, which might be happening at Cipro”. She could give no further details regarding the investigation at this stage.

The DTI has declined to comment on the matter, dodging queries from ITWeb.

Fraud at the registration office – specifically the creation of fake and duplicate companies – could have far-reaching consequences for SA's economic standing.

Industry analyst with Absa Investments Chris Gilmour says it creates a false impression of the South African business environment. “This [the allegation of potential fraud] could be the tip of the iceberg,” he points out.

Unknown scale
Until the investigation is completed, there is no way of knowing how widespread fraud is at Cipro. However, if the organisation is involved in the duplication of companies in the database, figures directing the local economy could be skewed.

However, Gilmour says that, to really make a significant impact on the economy, the duplication in the Cipro database would have to be extensive. “We have highly-concentrated industries, dominated by large companies. It is unlikely the culprits would have duplicated large businesses, since it would not go unnoticed,” he explains.

He notes that the fraud would likely have been committed using small businesses as a front and, because the large organisations across all sectors account for the majority of the country's economy, fraud would have to have been conducted on a large scale.

Evidence came to light last year that the duplication scam involved creating clones of well-known companies on the Cipro system. It is understood that bank accounts were then set up in the duplicates' names by individuals using fraudulent company and identity documents. Tax refunds were then diverted to the fake bank accounts.

It emerged that a duplicate of SBC International Management Services was registered on 10 July 2008. In October 2008, R31.6 million was paid into its bank account. A duplicate of Sun Microsystems SA was registered on 5 November 2008, with R19.3 million being paid into that bank account in December.

According to Gilmour, there are other implications, which may also affect the alternative exchange on the JSE, and also to people looking for reliable information on companies in SA.

Attempts to contact JSE senior GM of marketing Noah Greenhill were unsuccessful.

Cipro's Web site has been consistently unavailable for the majority of last weekend and this week, and has been up and down since late last year. Cipro says the downtime is the result of a server upgrade. The site was supposed to be up and running on Tuesday; however, it is still inaccessible.

CIPRO long been a den of corruption, incompetence and chaos

2009-12-09T16:50:00.000+02:00

These 2 extracts taken from
http://business.iafrica.com/features/2080860.htm

A den of corruption
However, CIPRO has long been a den of corruption, incompetence and chaos with many cases of fraud committed at CIPRO having recently come to light. Many professionals such as lawyers who deal with it on a daily basis consider it to be something of a joke while it should be above reproach as a fundamental service of vital importance to business and the protection of intellectual property rights.
Ironically, Sendwe's response to fraud and corruption at CIPRO has been to lay on an industrial play for his staff to highlight the consequences of fraud and corruption and "to emphasise the importance of whistle blowing".

Whistle-blowers "punished"
While the government paid lip service to stronger action and from time to time announced measures to facilitate whistle-blowing, those who did dare to blow the whistle on their corrupt colleagues, often found themselves being "punished" for their efforts. The latest case in point is Rocco De Lorenzo, the Risk Manager at the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO), who has allegedly been suspended on a charge of "breach of confidentiality" after he supplied information to the police. The police investigation involves tender rigging charges made against the Chief Information Officer, Michael Twum-Darko.
CIPRO's CEO Keith Sendwe has denied that whistle-blowing had anything to do with the suspension, but will not make known the "real" reasons for De Lorenzo's suspension. Instead Sendwe has got himself directly involved in the political arena by attacked Democratic Alliance (DA) MP, Andricus van der Westhuizen, for "undermining" and "attacking" the "credibility" of CIPRO by revealing this information.

Cipro corruption allegations and dubious tenders: minister must explain

2009-12-08T13:03:00.000+02:00

(This article quoted directly from
http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=7491)
Andricus van der Westhuizen, Shadow Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry
29 October 2009
   The situation at Cipro (Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office) is out of control – dubious tenders, corruption allegations and dismal internal security are cause for great concern over the office’s ability to meet its mandate. Urgent action is needed to clarify the situation.
   Serious questions are mounting regarding the allocation of a tender to IT service provider ValorIT to administer Cipro’s database for R152.7 million – while the company’s biggest reported turnover has been less than R2.2 million. Worse still, there is proof that ValorIT had access to Cipro’s business plan - which is confidential – and therefore constitutes tender rigging.
   Millions of rands have already been pilfered from businesses because of faults in Cipro’s information systems provided by ValorIT. The serious flaws in the system allow criminals to commit tax fraud by posing as businesses entitled to tax refunds – something that could have been avoided if the system was on standard.
   If Cipro cannot be trusted to administer the affairs of business registration, then it places the entire economy at risk – small to medium size businesses are the engine room of job creation.
   The Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davis, must explain how such a small business as ValorIT could’ve been judged as having “a track record to deliver on a contract of this magnitude” – and why Cipro deemed it fit to award such a big state tender to a business whose books have never been properly audited.
   There is quite a difference between having a turnover of just over R2 million per year and the responsibility for a single contract worth R153 million. The Supply Chain Management Framework clearly stipulates that a prospective bidder must be able to prove that it can sustain a contract of such high monetary value.
   Parliamentary questions also revealed that both the minister and the director-general of Trade and Industry have requested an audit regarding this tender – but it remains to be made public. The DA will be asking further questions on this matter.

CIPRO: Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater

2009-12-07T19:16:00.000+02:00

CIPRO (Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office) has just thrown the Baby out with the Bathwater.
   As of today the non-profit referrer site www.cipro.org.za has closed down due to CIPRO's insistence in spite of it referring clients to Cipro for the past 6 years free of charge and advising thousands of clients about business registration also without recognition or thanks from the powers that be.
   Now if you go to www.cipro.org.za you will find a blank page instead of onward referral to the government site and a free advice email system which has helped thousands of would-be entrepreneurs.
   Not only has the government's inability to run the country led to hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs, but now they have gone one further and blocked thousands of members of the public from quick business advice which the volunteers at www.cipro.org.za has given for 6 years!
   Pretexts like stating that the cipro.org.za consultants answered the phone "Cipro Hello" do not gel as it has been confirmed this was never done by these voluntary individuals. Why would they want to be Cipro and shoulder the blame for a badly run organisation?
AGENT versus CUSTOMER
Here is an extract form Cipro's website:
What is a customer? A customer is any person or enterprise that plays an intermediary role between the customer and CIPRO. Customers are required to be registered with CIPRO. Various types of CIPRO customers exist in South Africa, such as Attorneys, Law Firms, Banks, Auditors, Other Enterprises and Private Individuals.
   How can a customer be an intermediary between a customer and Cipro? The thing is, this was the old definition of an Agent badly rehashed by Cipro.
   In the old days (a few years ago) only registered Agents could use Cipro's online services. Information integrity was high.
   Then some bright spark at Cipro decided to let every possible person in SA climb on their server and since then there has been mass corruption, fraud and delayed server activity, with incorrect data ubiquitously moving through the system.
   Under the recent crackdown rules accounting firms who register thousands of CC's annually with Cipro and thereby make a hugh contribution to the economy may not use the name Cipro anywhere on their websites, not even to say they are Cipro agents.
   So if you are a Nedbank client you cannot say you are a Nedbank client? And for Cipro you may not say you are a Cipro agent or customer?