Bid Protest Committee rules in favour of Puran Brothers

Oct 05, 2016 News

Chairperson of BPC, Joann Bond

The Bid Protest Committee has ruled in favour of Puran Brothers’ Disposal Inc. in the matter of the $221M contract awarded to the company for the management and maintenance of the Haags Bosch Dumpsite on the East Bank of Demerara. The award was protested against by the Cevon’s Waste Management Group.

The ruling was handed down last Friday by Chairperson of the committee, attorney-at-law Joann Bond. The procurement entity, the Ministry of Communities, has been advised by the Committee to continue with the procurement procedure.

In a statement issued by the Ministry, yesterday, it was explained that it is required to wait until the outcome of a court injunction in relation to the signing of the contract with Puran Brothers.

The two companies along with the Ministry of Communities have since been furnished with copies of the nine-page ruling handed down by the Committee.

The Cevon’s group had challenged the decision to award the multimillion-dollar contract to Puran Brothers for the management of the landfill and requested a review of the award.

The protesting company’s claim was based on four arguments—technical competence, low price, operation methodology and past performance.

According to the Ministry, all these points were addressed in the ruling. The Cevon’s Group had partnered with Ivor Allen and Ground Structure United to bid for the project but were unsuccessful.

The partners believed that there was blatant favouritism on the part of the procurement entity, the Ministry of Communities in the bidding and awarding process of the site.

The work of the committee to begin its deliberation on the matter was stymied initially due to the lack of established procedures to handle such matters. Two months after the complaint was made on July 12, 2016, no investigation had been launched into the bidding and procurement process employed for the award of the contract.

Cevon’s had also protested the signing of the contract since the Ministry went ahead to sign knowing the valuation was being challenged. According to the complainant this was a violation of Regulations 14(1) which says that when a matter is before the BPC, the procurement process should be adjourned.

Morse Archer, Chief Executive Officer of Cevon’s had reported in the media that upon having knowledge of the award, a letter was written to the procuring entity and the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

The Cevon’s Group had also contended that the Evaluation Committee improperly assessed the bids.

The Ministry was always confident in the choice made for Puran’s to manage the dumpsite. The government entity had said on a previous occasion that the claims being made by Cevon’s were inaccurate. It stood by the position that the tender process was in accordance with the law.

At the time of the signing of the contract, it was said by Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan that the new contract provides for the application of new techniques for waste management. This will be done by the use of a compactor unit and fire fighting equipment among other state of the art facilities.

According to the Ministry, work on other dumpsites across Guyana will soon commence. Targeted areas include Linden, Bartica and Mahdia. Contractors are therefore free to participate in the bidding process, either individually or as a joint venture to provide sanitation services.