The National Procurement and Tender Administration (NPTAB) was yesterday instructed to issue memos to government ministries to ensure they abide by the law and inform both successful and unsuccessful bidders of the award of contracts.
“He [Chairman of NPTAB Donald Declou] will send out a circular as a result of today’s conference. I have instructed him to do that, reminding all procuring entities of this obligation under the Procurement Act… I want to maintain my modesty, but if it ain’t happen you will see the action,” Minister within the Ministry of Finance Juan Edghill said yesterday.
He was at the time responding to a question posed by Stabroek News on the actions government and the NPTAB intend to take in dealing with the sore point that bidders are not being notified by procuring entities of the outcome of their bids.
Many companies have bemoaned the negligence by procuring agencies in notifying them of the award of the contract for which they would have made bids.
Stabroek News had spoken with several companies that regularly bid for government contracts and they expressed disappointment at never being notified of awards. “Everyone knows that you know about the contract only if you win and if you didn’t get a call, over a certain time, know you didn’t win and mek yuh ites and move on to the next one and hope for better luck,” one contractor had said.
“No one addresses the fact that it is unlawful because, admitting so myself, people know that you will be targeted for speaking up and that might very well be your last contract if you decide to talk up. So, we let it ride,” the representative of a popular contracting entity posited.
Edghill said he believes that once this aspect of the procurement process is addressed there will be fewer complaints.
“We want to see it happen and I am making it very clear that procuring entities are called upon to obey the Procurement Act as it relates to notification. It will bring an end to a lot of the grumblings and the dissatisfactions that exist in the society,” he said.
“Let’s get on with the show. Let people know who got it. Let people know who didn’t get it…,” he added.
Chief Executive Officer of Ansa McAL Beverly Harper, who attended the symposium, sought clarity on the issue surrounding her company’s bid to prequalify to supply drugs to Guyana’s health sector. She too pointed out that her company has to date not been notified by the Health Ministry of outcome of that process.
“There is a little conundrum here because when it is the Cabinet Secretary that notifies the nation of the award we have five days in which to ask the reason… If the procuring entity has not advised, what is one to do?” she questioned.
Edghill stated that that bidders should not use Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon’s weekly announcement of Cabinet’s ‘No Objection’ to contracts to mean that the contracts have been awarded.
“You cannot object to a contract that has not been awarded …no contractor should take Dr Luncheon’s announcement to be synonymous with the award of a contract. Dr Luncheon is simply saying to the nation that Cabinet gave its no objection,” he said.
“It is the Tender Board that would now have to do its work, with the procuring entity for the award of the contract. So your five days is not five days from Dr Luncheon’s announcement,” Edghill added.
The Ministry of Health had said that it was not officially notified of the result of the prequalification for drugs tender. This claim was denied by an NPTAB official but yesterday this newspaper was told that to date no document was received by that agency.
Questioned on the status of the contract Edghill said that he was not aware of the specifics but would seek an update from the NPTAB chairman.
Asked about an estimated time that cabinet sends documentation to NPTAB after they sign off on No Objections Edghill informed that it depended on the amount of contracts and said he could not give an estimate.
It has been more than two months since Dr Luncheon made the announcement of the prequalification award. Stabroek News was reliably informed that since then at least 50 other contracts have been given no objections and those documents forwarded to NPTAB. Some of those contracts have already commenced.
The International Pharmaceutical Agency (IPA) had also challenged, in court, the prequalification process to supply drugs for the health sector saying it was unconstitutional and is seeking to have the decision to select the New GPC as the lone supplier set aside.
The company, through its attorney, recently filed a motion in the High Court against the Attorney General, saying the decision or recommendation made by the NPTAB that it does not meet the criteria to supply drugs to government for 2014 to 2016 is unfair, unreasonable, unconstitutional, unlawful, and null, void and of no legal effect.
That matter is scheduled to be heard in the High Court later this month.
A source close to the contract yesterday pointed out that NPTAB now saying that it has not received Cabinet’s documents would nullify the court case brought by IPA and Ansa McAL’s protest. “I don’t believe it at all that NPTAB has not received notice… They see this as the way to escape the litigation brought on them because he did say you can’t object to a contract not awarded,” the bidder stated.
