Forensic Investigations and Ethics Management Panel

The Border Management Authority (BMA), a national public entity under Schedule 3A of the Public Finance Management Act, has issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) to appoint a panel of skilled, experienced, and suitably qualified individuals and firms for forensic investigations and ethics management services over a period of three years. The BMA has a zero-tolerance policy toward fraud, corruption, and unethical conduct. Its Integrity Management Unit is currently overloaded with investigation requests and lacks the capacity to fully address its mandate and ethics programme, so the panel is intended to supplement internal capacity. The panel is divided into two service categories, and bidders may apply for one or both.

Category 1, Forensic Investigations, covers investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption. Specialist areas include forensic investigators (evidence gathering, analysis, reporting, and remedial action), digital forensics (device analysis, data recovery, and tracing digital footprints), forensic accounting (examination of financial records and identification of irregularities), legal experts with knowledge of immigration, port health, customs, and environmental law, cybersecurity experts (data breaches, network intrusions, and cyber-related crime), data analysts (pattern and trend analysis), and questioned documents analysts (authenticity and alteration analysis). Category 2, Ethics Management, covers conducting ethics and corruption risk assessments, ethics maturity assessments and gap analysis, development of an ethics management strategy, and ethics training, awareness, and marketing campaigns. The evaluation criteria also refer to an anonymous whistleblowing reporting line within this category.

To qualify, bidders must submit a completed SBD 1, SBD 4 (Bidder's Disclosure), and a signed authority to sign, and must be registered on the Central Supplier Database (CSD) at the closing time. Tax compliance requirements apply, including a Tax Compliance Status PIN or CSD number, and each joint venture or consortium partner must submit its own. Service providers may not use non-South African citizens unless they are vetted and hold a valid work permit. For mandatory evaluation, the Forensic Investigations project manager must hold an NQF Level 8 or higher qualification in criminal justice, law, forensic science, forensic auditing, or forensic accounting, have at least three years of relevant experience, and be registered with the ACFE or ICFP. The Ethics Management project manager must hold an NQF Level 8 or higher qualification in criminal justice, law, forensic investigation, forensic science, forensic auditing, risk management, or forensic accounting, have at least three years of ethics or related experience, and be registered with the Ethics Management Institute or the Institute of Risk Management South Africa. Teams must be structured as Partner/Director, Project Manager, and Team Lead, and CVs must use the prescribed Annexure A template. Proposals must include a methodology covering planning, execution, and reporting, a public sector client portfolio, an organogram, technology tools, and company footprint.

Once appointed, panel members will not receive guaranteed work. The BMA will issue formal requests for quotation to panel members for defined assignments, evaluated under the Preferential Procurement Regulations, and providers who have not finalised earlier allocations may not be assigned new work. Fees will be based on the AGSA guideline on fees for audits and investigations, paid in South African Rand on a fixed-price basis inclusive of VAT, within 30 days of an approved invoice, and linked to key deliverables. Bids must be submitted through the eTender portal by the closing date of 8 December 2026 at 11:00. Bidders should check the tender document for whether a compulsory briefing session applies, and direct queries to suppliers.enquiries@bma.gov.za. The BMA reserves the right to appoint one or multiple providers, negotiate prices, and terminate or defer work.