BIDDERS who have concerns relating to the process of bidding to provide goods or services to the government are being urged to take their protest to the Bid Protest Committee (BPC).This Committee was established in June of this year under regulations of the Public Procurement Act and is chaired by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams and includes Mr. Archie Clifton and Mr. Ewart Adams.
A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Saturday noted that government has received a complaint from a manufacturer over the award of a contract for the supply and delivery of boxed juice for national distribution to nursery schools in anticipation of the start of the current school term.
It was noted by the OPM that the recommendation for award of the contract was made by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, which stated that all the technical and administrative requirements had been satisfied by the winning bidder. The recommendation was subsequently considered by Cabinet and a no- objection was issued for the contract to be awarded accordingly.
“In this case, Cabinet was advised that the lowest bidder was not recommended for the contract in view of continued issues with past performance dating back to 2012. Further, the second lowest did not meet a technical requirement of 25% natural juice content in each box after tests conducted by the Food and Drug Department,” the statement clarified.
As such, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board therefore recommended the third lowest bidder in view of that bidder having satisfied all technical and administrative requirements.
“The government once again reaffirms the right and implores any bidder which is dissatisfied with this or any government bidding process to pursue via the Bid Protest Committee,” the statement concluded.