We aren’t aware of any reports of bid rigging – Tender Board head

Jul 02, 2014 News

Donald De Clou

Head of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Donald De Clou, said that he is not aware of any reports of alleged bid rigging taking place at the level of the tender board.

The agency, he said, does not tolerate breaches in the transparency of procurement practices and if there are allegations of such, there is a specified mechanism that can be used to bring the matter to the attention of the Board.

The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) was established in accordance with Section 16 (1) of the Procurement Act 2003 which came into effect in November 2004, with the signing of the Order by the Minister of Finance.

The mission of NPTAB is to facilitate the establishment and implementation of regulatory environment conducive to transparency, efficiency, openness, fairness and accountability in public sector procurement.

De Clou made those statements in light of comments made by Ramesh Dookhoo, Chairman of the Competition and Consumers Affairs Commission who had told this publication that the Commission has received reports of bid rigging.

There are four main types of bid rigging: bid suppression, complementary bidding, bid rotation and subcontracting. In the most common of these schemes, some of the “competitors” submit offers that they know the buyer will reject because the price is too high or the terms are unacceptable in order to create the appearance of legitimate bidding while ensuring that a prearranged “competitor” will win the bid.

The Competition and Fair Trading Act, targets offences such as price fixing, conspiracy, bid rigging, misleading advertisements, anti-competitiveness, abuse of dominant position, and resale price maintenance.

The Act provides for a Competition Commission to have authority to review anti-competitive business practices.

Members of the political opposition have said that the competition offences still continue to plague the efficiency and effectiveness of doing business in Guyana. It was also posited that more should have been done, and still needs to be done, by the Competition and Consumers Affairs Commission (CCAC).

It is also believed by the Opposition that the entity has not had a significant impact as it relates to effectively addressing the issues which hinder competitiveness in Guyana.

But Chairman of the CCAC, Ramesh Dookhoo, said that while he does not negate the fact that the issues are prevalent, the Commission, he believes, has taken the necessary steps thus far to continue making a significant impact as it relates to the said issues.

As it relates to big rigging, Dookhoo had said that the Commission has received complaints about this, and as such, plans to meet with the Tender Board and a senior Finance Ministry official, with a view to addressing the various claims.

“Our position is to meet with the Tender Board and deal with them in terms of explaining the seriousness of this offence, as they are the only people who are able to see this, especially on the national level. So yes, we are taking steps where this is concerned, and as such we will continue to pursue this.”

After being apprised of Dookhoo’s claim, De Clou via a telephone interview yesterday insisted that he is not aware that there were any such allegations in the first place at the Commission nor have there been any at the tender board.

While he has not heard of any reports, the Tender Board head firmly stated that he has not seen anything to suggest that bid rigging is taking place at the administration.

“If there have been such reports to the Competition Commission then let them point out the instances and I would be happy to look into it for what it is worth. We would be more than willing to facilitate a meeting with the Commission as well.”

De Clou went on to state that there is a procedure that can be taken by someone aggrieved with a particular tender process. This procedure he said can also be found on their website.

The Tender Board head added, “In the absence of the Public Procurement Commission, there is a website which has various steps that can be followed if one wishes to make a report or complaint. Unless a report is made, I would not be able to look into it. A report needs to be made if someone has evidence of such…We are a careful and quite transparent entity…We do not tolerate breaches of procurement processes.”

For the purposes of clearing up misconceptions of what is or isn’t acceptable and how the Tender Board works, De Clou said that every year, the entity holds an annual seminar and their next public session will be held soon.