Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 07, 2017 News
As attempts are being made to clarify issues surrounding the award of the US$23M Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and European Union (EU) – funded Power Utility Upgrade Project, the undertaking continues to attract a
of number queries.
The Guyana Power and Light, which is the procuring entity for the project, is contending that the tendering process for Lot A of the project would have received the ‘no objection’ from the IDB, approval from the Guyana National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and finally the Cabinet in the last quarter of 2016.
Kaieteur News has reported thus far that questions are being asked whether the smart meters, which form one component of the project, were tested and approved. The power company responded to this matter via an advertisement in yesterday’s edition of this newspaper.
The power company said that the winner of the Lot A contract, China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CMC), had provided two brands of meters during the tendering stage of the project and one brand was selected.
Speaking with Chairman of NPTAB, Berkley Wickham yesterday, this newspaper sought to ascertain whether bidders for the project were required to present sample meters to be tested during the tendering stage.
Wickham responded to the first query by saying, “I don’t have any information to give you. That has passed the tender board stage. It is now in the realm of the operating agency, the procuring entity to manage the contract. We don’t have anything to do with that.”
“That is history. I don’t have any comments to make on that.” As such, the NPTAB Chairman was asked if some clarity can be given on one issue. To this he said, “What issue? There is nothing to clarify. The tender has been awarded, the contract has been signed and that’s it. What more do you want to know?”
Wickham was then asked specifically if the presentation of sample meters was required by the bidders for the project. To this, the Chairman said, “You have to ask the procuring entity. That is a contract; that has to do with the contract. The tender board has nothing to do with the contract or the administering of the contract.”
It was then explained to the Chairman that GPL has stated publicly that two brands of the smart meters were presented during the tendering stage. This was to understand whether the body which is in charge of evaluating tenders knew of this requirement and would have used this criterion to judge the submitted tenders.
Not addressing the tendering process, Wickham zoomed in on the contract over which NPTAB has no control, to say that the document was available to all tenderers beforehand. “So it is a public document. It has nothing to do with the tender board. There is a contract and they would have agreed when they bid to abide by the terms and conditions of the contract. So after they won, they would have to tie the contract with the procuring entity. It has nothing to do with the tender board.”
Based on this, the NPTAB Chairman was then asked whether the tender board would have known of the requirements for the tendering process. Again, Wickham addressed the contract, which is outside NPTAB’s jurisdiction, and not the tendering process.
Wickham was then informed of the advertisement placed in yesterday’s Kaieteur News by GPL concerning the issue. However, the NPTAB Chairman said that he had not read the newspapers as yet.
He was further notified that GPL has said that NPTAB would have given approval for the award of the contract following a comprehensive Tendering and Evaluation process. Wickham then advised that the Procurement Act should be perused to understand the role of the NPTAB as it relates to the tendering stage.
In all of this, the NPTAB Chairman could not say if the presentation of sample meters was a requirement that tenderers would have to fulfil and whether meters were presented or considered as is being stated by GPL.
According to the Act, there is to be an Evaluation Committee which shall evaluate the tenders pursuant to section 39 of the Act. The Evaluation Committee is comprised of persons chosen by the Tender Board to evaluate a particular procurement.
Section 39 of the Act states that the procuring entity, in this case GPL, shall transmit to the Evaluation Committee all tenders timely received from contractors or suppliers promptly following the bid opening ceremony for the evaluation.
Further, in Section 39 (2) the Evaluation Committee shall, using only evaluation criteria, outline in the tender documents, evaluate all tenders, determine which tenderer has submitted the lowest evaluated tender, and convey its recommendation to the procuring entity within a reasonable period of time, but not longer than 14 days.
Subsection 5 of that Section says that a tender shall be rejected if the supplier or contractor that submitted the tender is not qualified. One tenderer for the said project had informed this newspaper that in the correspondence received informing of the disqualification, there was no mention of failing to provide sample meters for testing.
Therefore, since the supply of sample meters by CMC was used to adjudge the company as the lowest responsive bidder, it is strange that other tenderers which did not produce sample meters were not told that failing to do so was one reason for their disqualification. Kaieteur News contacted one bidder that confirmed this.
Further, the power company had stated in its clarification advertisement that two brands of meters were presented by CMC. However, the Guyana National Bureau of Standards which is expected to perform accuracy tests on these meters has not encountered them. It therefore means that the tests which GNBS has to perform will occur after the contract has been awarded. The meters are expected to arrive in Guyana on or before May 15, 2017.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
Apr 24, 2024
Round 2 GFF Women’s League Division One Kaieteur Sports – The Guyana Police Force FC on Saturday last demolished Pakuri Jaguars FC with a 17 – 0 goal blitz at the Guyana Football...Kaieteur News – Just recently, the PPC determined that it does not have the authority to vitiate a contract which was... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]