The Public Procurement Commission (PPC) is to launch an investigation into the controversial $865 million Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, Pump Station contract award to Tepui Group and will ask for the documents of the 26 bidders, Opposition Member of Parliament David Patterson yesterday said.
“I received a letter around 12:30 pm today from the PPC informing me that they had received my letter of complaint, it was on their agenda and that an investigation will be launched,” Patterson yesterday said when contacted by the Stabroek News.
“The PPC will be requesting the invitation to tender, all 26 tenders, the evaluation reports, the evaluation criteria and other documents…,” he added.
However, Patterson said he was shocked to learn that the contract would not be put on hold to allow for the investigation. This decision by the PPC, he pointed out, will see another letter being written to them, outlining why he believes, in the interest of transparency, that the award be put on hold.
“After getting the letter, I immediately enquired if they will put the award on hold, because obviously what is the use of not putting on hold until a determination, and I was told, no, they were not putting it on hold,” he related.
“I am concerned that there will be an investigation as this contract proceeds. What if someone is found culpable? Then it would just be a book entry and say, ‘this is wrong, but the contract is awarded we can’t do nothing at all about that’? he queried.
“So I do intend to write them expressing my concern on if they have asked NPTAB to put on hold. And if they had not, why not?”
Patterson has said that he is hoping that the investigation will examine every aspect of the award, including how a company that did not meet the specified bidding criteria for experience won. Also, how it is that a contract with only one engineer’s estimate was split among three bidders for different projects. It was not immediately clear how three separate pump station awards could be made from one group of bids.
“A contract for the construction of a Pump Station at Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, Region #3, was awarded to Tepui Group Inc. on August 14, 2023, the procuring entity was the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, I write seeking an investigation into the award of this contract on the basis that the Contractor was not eligible for the award,” Patterson said in a letter to the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), on Tuesday.
Submitted with the letter were the details of the $865,543,500 contract award and the fact that the company was only formed late last year. Also among the documents was the contract award letter from NPTAB to the company, dated August 14.
Patterson noted that of the 26 companies that bid, the company which won did not meet key bidding criteria, which stated that bidders had to have completed similar projects within the last three years.
“The technical requirements of the bid documents required the successful bidder to have successfully completed projects of a similar nature and size within the last three years. Tepui Group Inc. having been established in August 2022, did not meet these requirements, however, it was still awarded the contract.
“Please find attached, documents and articles that are in the public’s domain. I would be grateful, via the PPC, if an investigation can be conducted, and should the award prove defective, that the necessary actions be taken against the entities and individuals associated with this award,” he added.
The former minister pointed out that the company’s directors were, Winston Martindale, Paul Rodrigues, Mikhail Rodrigues known as ‘Guyanese Critic’, Sunnil Bhagwandin, and Francis Arokium.
‘Reserves the Right’
According to the bidding documents for the project which was opened on the 27th of June this year, and seen by the Stabroek News, the project was for a pump station at Belle Vue on the West Bank of Demerara. The engineer’s estimate was also for that project alone, so the National Procure-ment and Tender Adminis-tration Board (NPTAB) still has to explain how three awards were handed out from among the same bidders when it was not a project divided into lots.
Bidders had been asked to “Submit one (1) original (in paper) and 2 electronic copies (flash drive only) with an exact PDF version of the paper tender. (It is the responsibility of the bidder to ensure that the PDF file is accessible and readable.) Ensure the envelopes of the original (in paper) and the 2 electronic copies are identically labelled. The 2 electronic copies (flash drive) should be placed in a smaller envelope and properly affixed to the original paper submission.”
The bids were to be opened in the presence of those bidders or their representatives who chose to attend an opening planned for Tuesday at 09:00. hours on June 13, in the boardroom of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Ministry of Finance. However, NPTAB records show the bids were opened on the 27th of June.
NPTAB had stated that while all bids must be accompanied by valid certificates of compliance from the Manager of the National Insurance Scheme and the Commis-sioner of the Guyana Revenue Authority and also must be accompanied by a bid security amounting to the value specified in the bid document, NPTAB, “reserves the right to reject any or all bids without assigning any reason whatsoever and not necessarily to award to the lowest bid.”
While not addressing the fact that the winner of the $865 million Belle Vue, West Bank Demerara, Pump Station contract did not meet the specified experience criteria, the NPTAB on Wednesday defended the award as it said it was one of the lowest responsive bids.
“Specifically, with regards to the construction of the Belle Vue Pump Station project, twenty-six (26) companies tendered for that project. Thirteen (13) bids were deemed non-responsive and were therefore not considered for award. Of the thirteen (13) substantially responsive and compliant bids, the lowest priced responsive bid was awarded the Meten-Meer-Zorg Pump Station, while the second lowest responsive bid was awarded the Jimbo/Grove Pump Station. Tepui was the third lowest priced responsive bidder and was awarded the Belle Vue Pump Station.”
The board added, “Clearly, therefore, merely looking at the bid price announced at the opening of the bid cannot be used to adjudge the winning bidder and, (worse) yet, be used to impugn the integrity of the evaluation process and subsequent award of the contract.”
NPTAB referred to a letter by APNU+AFC MP Ganesh Mahipaul, who bemoaned the evaluation process of the tender but it did not address a similar concern raised by Patterson.
An NPTAB official pointed this newspaper to the clause: “Demonstrate general construction experience within the past five (5) years by providing a list of verifiable completed projects. The value of the project, year completed and clients’ name and contact numbers must be provided,” the criteria stated.
But is it unclear if Tepui provided such a list, and if it did, where those projects were executed.
NPTAB used most of the release to explain what it said constitutes responsiveness of a bid.
But observers have pointed out that bidders at procurement forums have consistently lamented on the award process.
