Tendering, including for gas, must be open and transparent

Feb 20, 2021 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

In theory, government contracts are given out based on an open, transparent tendering process – the most effective tender supposedly gets the job. Is it really so? Is the entire process of submitting a tender a sham? For the four studies for gas to shore, is there any tendering? Or is government just selecting any four entities to do the gas onshore studies? Is it ethical for Ministers to direct contracts to favour bidders? Should government engage in no bidding contracting?
There were allegations of manipulation of tenders during the last PPP administrations that ended in 2011 and 2015 with loss of political support. In spite of economic progress, the PPP was removed from office. Did the PPP learn anything from those allegations and the election outcomes? We are six months into the new administration. Is a repeat in the making?
It is becoming common practice for Ministers to override their departmental tender boards within their respective Ministries and award contracts as per the Minister’s directives. It was so under the previous regime except for a few Ministers against whom there were no allegations of wrongdoing or contract interference. But this government promised to do business differently from its predecessor. Instead, there are more abusive practices that are costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
Are all contracts advertised or tendered? How about the much talked about gas project for Wales? Are some contracts sole sourced with preferred bidders? It was recently revealed in a report in a paper that two companies got 85 percent of the contracts to supply the Health Ministry with drugs. Is that fair? There is much hype over the Eccles to Diamond road recently done. Why was it not tendered? Which company did the road? Who owns the company? Is there an incestuous relationship between contractor and someone in the government? Is the contractor a front for anyone in the government?
It is now necessary for the Auditor General (AG) to pay close attention to every tender so as to prevent manipulation of the process. Copies of tenders should be submitted to the AG’s Chamber. And opening of tenders should be done in the presence of AG staff and made public before evaluation is done so that costs are not changed in favour of a contractor or to add something for rewarding of the contract. This open tendering process would restrict the kind of ministerial abuse that is emerging in which ministers direct which company gets a contract.
Are contractors being called in to pay a fee and/or told of a deal to get the contract? Is the contract price re-negotiated to include the deal?
On deals, are family members of a Minister providing a service through a recently established company that is expediting approval of construction and facilitating contracts? There are suggestions that this is the case and that this is a Ministry that has one of the largest budgets. Is it right for family members of Ministers to engage in this kind of business activity and is it fair to squeeze contractors for a fee in order to land a contract?
Editor, putting in a tendering process cost in excess of $200K — buying the tender package and going through the expenses of preparing the documents like hiring engineers to complete the required paper work, packaging of the materials, and the time spent — only to find out the entire process is a sham. A small contractor finds the process prohibitive and cumbersome, and feels pain when a contract has been manipulated to favour a particular contractor who pays to play.
While a few former Ministers did not interfere with the tender process, and they are applauded for their honesty, it appears that the opposite now obtains in several Ministries where an honest contractor finds it almost impossible to get work. Ministers should not have the power to determine who gets a tender. The process should be open and transparent perhaps involving the Auditor General to witness the tender process and audit the work.

Yours truly,
Nigel P. Blake

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