New tender rules mandate more residents’ participation

Mar 31, 2017 News

The public tendering process has been modified as part of government’s move to ensure that residents are included in the implementation of infrastructure works in their communities.

RDC councillors and Toshaos at the meeting in Kato, Region Eight.

At a recent ministerial outreach to Kato, Region Eight, Permanent Secretary (PS,) of the Ministry of Communities, Emil McGarrel, informed residents that a new stipulation will ensure that they would be a part of the pre-tendering process with the potential contractors.
Mc Garrel explained that what has been happening overtime is that the contractors would bid for government contracts, without having any knowledge of the location or the condition under which the project must be delivered.
“They would sit either in Georgetown or Mahdia or somewhere else, see the tender document and prepare it and win the award. They do all this having never actually visited the location to see the place where the project has to occur, so they do not know what is available in the community,” the PS explained.
He told the residents that as of this year, the ministry has put in place a new tender document at different levels which will require that a contractor, “if he or she is going to come to do work here in Kato, then he or she must have visited Kato at some point and engage the leaders and residents. He or she must come to Kato. He/she has to see the Toshao and state what is his business; “I am bidding for this project that the region is putting forward,” McGarrel explained.
The PS also explained that the new tender process also asked that the contractors who are awarded the projects, make use of any available skills set within the communities.
“We put in some measures that will ensure that not only labour are taken from the communities, but if there is a skill set available, that the person would have the advantage of the award of the contract if they are going to make the residents from the community a part of this project,” he explained.
Under the law, contracts for works with a monetary value of less than $5M are awarded to residents where the projects are to be located.
However, once the project value exceeds $5M, the project goes to public tender. This tendering process sets out a number of regulations including assets and documentation which the villages may not possess. This requirement prevents some communities from tendering for projects since they would not meet the requirements for the tendering process.
The inclusion of the new tendering stipulation however, will ensure that the residents continue to benefit economically from the implementation of government projects within their communities. It will also ensure that the rights of the residents to participate in the development programmes within their community continue.