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The Minister pointed out that any bid that was opened at the National Tender Board is one that has been through the public process.
He stated that GWI had a public advertisement in the newspapers and noted that, once a bid is publicly advertised, the company has absolutely no control over who the bidders are and the prices they wish to bid.
That is something he wished to clarify and the Minister said Ramjattan used it as a reason to attack the credibility of the engineers and their estimates.
Ali reiterated that public officials must understand that they cannot attack the credibility of technicians without facts and understanding the processes and the technical requirements and standards governing the operations of the work of the technicians.
Mischievous
The Minister, in a statement, said:“The Ministry notes that article which attributes statements directly to the AFC leader, Mr. Ramjattan is not only mischievous and filled with Opposition sensationalism but also makes a direct attack on the credibility and competence of professionals working in the Public Service by politicians who seek to mislead the public by casting any and everything under the blanket of corruption.”
According to him:“This is a rush to judgement on the part of Mr. Ramjattan since this project was open following a National Open Tender process on Tuesday.
“An evaluation is now to be done, without which no one can offer any reasoned explanation for the disparity between the engineer’s estimate and the bid.”
Ali continued:“To accuse the engineer of being lackadaisical without knowing what are the details is not only unfair to the hardworking staff of GWI, who have executed in excess of GYD $3 billion in 2012 within all international and national standards, but is also a blatant disregard for the competencies of professionals.
“If Mr. Ramjattan understands the procurement process, then it can only be concluded that other ulterior political motives of mischief rest at the bottom of his unfounded and incompetent statements.
“To say that the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission would result in disparities like this one not arising is illogical and misleading. National tenders are open and any company is free to bid as high or as low as it sees fit. There is nothing about the Public Procurement Commission that will cause a company not to make a bid that is significantly higher than the engineer’s estimate,” Ali concluded.
Also present were Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Mr. Emil Mc Garrel; Director of Procurement, Mr. Aubrey Roberts and Director of Capital Investment and Planning, Mr. Ramchand Jailall.
Jailall said the project entails the construction of a well approximately 300 metres deep and the project execution time is four months with a warranty of 24 months.
Hurt
Mc Garrel declared that he is, indeed, hurt at the statements made in the newspaper as the Ministry has a lot of confidence in the GWI procurement team.
Roberts indicated that the advertisement was placed in all of the newspapers and ran from the period October 19 to November 6 and, so far, only BK International submitted a tender.
He said GWI wishes to state that, with regard to the procurement and awarding of contracts for developmental works within the water sector, it adhered strictly to all guidelines and procedures in the Procurement Act 2003.
GWI wished to state that the tender referred to in the article is in the initial stages of the National Tender Process and is awaiting perusal and evaluation by the Evaluation Committee appointed by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.
GWI views the statements made in the article as an indication of a significant lack of understanding of the procurement and tender process.
It said GWI welcomes the interest of the national leaders in its operations and procedures. However, it expects that the views expressed to be fair and informed, since they shape public opinion.
GWI said, regarding the engineer’s estimate, the statements can only be deemed premature as the assertions are without the benefit of an assessment of the engineer’s bid price, as well.
In accordance with all procurement standards, GWI has no control regarding any bid prices that are received during the tendering process and a bidder is free to submit a price without any influence from the client.
GWI urged the author of the article to utilise proper investigation when making such statements about the integrity of the engineer’s estimate and the specifications involved.
It encouraged all members of the public to become educated about the process involved in the procurement of works, as well as the international and national standards followed by GWI.
The utility assured the public that in the execution of developmental programmes, it strictly follows all applicable tender guidelines.
