BID SECURITY AND BID SECURING DECLARATION

Dec 23, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
I trust that the rank and file at the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), particularly those that participate at the public opening ceremony, and the evaluators are cognizant that qualified bidders could submit with their bid, bid securing declaration as an alternative to the bid security and the reason (s) for doing so.
Further, the grounds for enforcement of the bid securing declaration and the concomitant penalties are much more severe than those for the bid security.
Some time in 2015, the Ministry of Finance hosted a seminar for bidders at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. During the proceedings, the question of bidders not using the bid securing declaration in the form of a bid security came up.
One of the presenters opined that the commitment bidders would have to make when the bid securing declaration is used as an alternative to the bid security is scary and the fear may have influenced their decision not to submit the bid securing declaration in place of the bid security when the need to do arises.
Be that as it may, it would be unfair for the evaluators to disqualify/reject a contractor bid for submitting a bid securing declaration instead of a bid security owing to ignorance; for ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the rules and regulations of the Procurement Act (2003) and the Procurement Amendment Regulations (2004).
Julius Williams

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