THE Government of Guyana has noted the blatant misinformation being peddled by the Opposition on the recent tender for the East Coast Demerara highway project. It said in a statement yesterday: “The facts will reveal that the Government at all times followed an open and transparent process aimed at protecting the national interest in this matter. These facts are as follows:
“Given that the ECD highway widening and improvement project is a candidate for financing by China Eximbank, in October 2013, Government invited expressions of interest from Chinese companies interested in participating in this project. Eight companies submitted expressions of interest. Following a rigorous prequalification process conducted by technical officials, and in which financial and technical capacity among other factors were taken into consideration to determine eligibility to bid, six companies were prequalified. On 12 February, 2014, these six (6) prequalified companies were invited to submit bids for the project.
“The tender closed on 13 May 2014, and, on closing, four (4) bids were received. The bids were opened in the customary public manner and the tendered prices were reported extensively in the national media. Of the four (4) bids received, China Railway First Group was the lowest at US$46.994 million. It would be recalled that the latter company has already established a track record of road building in Guyana, being currently engaged on the construction of the road to the Amaila Falls hydropower project.
“A technical evaluation panel evaluated the bids received and recommended that the tender be awarded, not to the lowest or even to the second lowest bidder, but to the third lowest (or second highest) bidder, China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd., who tendered US$60.418 million. It would be recalled that the latter company is engaged on the airport expansion project.
“The justification given by the evaluation panel for not awarding the contract to the lowest bidder was that the panel had reservations about the bidder’s ability to complete the works at the tendered price.
“The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) transmitted the recommendation of the evaluation committee to the Cabinet for its no objection, whereupon the Cabinet withheld its no objection. The Cabinet’s reservations were based on the fact that all of the invited bidders were prequalified and therefore judged to have both the financial and technical capacity to execute the works, the fact that the lowest bidder had an established and demonstrated track record of road building in Guyana including in difficult terrain along with a resident road building equipment fleet, and the fact that the tendered price offered by the lowest bidder was some US$13.424 million (equivalent to G$2.8 billion) lower than the recommended bidder. The matter was therefore returned to NPTAB in view of the withholding of Cabinet’s no objection, for reconsideration.
“The same evaluation panel then reconsidered the matter, and revised its recommendation in favour of the lowest bidder, and that revised recommendation was resubmitted to the Cabinet and received its no objection. The contract was therefore awarded to the lowest prequalified bidder, China Railway First Group, a company with a track record of road building in Guyana and a suitable resident fleet of equipment.
“Cabinet’s principal concern was the absence of a basis for disregarding lower priced bids received from prequalified bidders. Once bidders are prequalified, they are evaluated to be capable of performing the works, and price competitiveness becomes the principal criterion. In this instance, the fact of the matter is that the bidder with the lowest price from amongst all the prequalified bidders also happens to be the one with the most demonstrable track record.
“The Cabinet therefore acted perfectly appropriately in withholding its no objection in the first instance and, throughout the process, Government acted in strict conformity with the Procurement Act 2003.
“Instead of addressing the real issues, the Opposition has instead proceeded on its usual tirade of spurious and baseless accusations and reckless finger pointing. The Chief Spokesperson for the Opposition on this matter, Mr. Joe Harmon, has gone so far as to insinuate wrongdoing on the part of persons associated with Government.
“What Mr. Harmon should publicly declare, instead, is whether he or any other MP from his party has ever travelled to any overseas destination, and to Jamaica and China in particular, as a guest of or to meet with any of the companies that tendered on this project, and who met the costs associated with these trips.
“This represents just the latest example of a Parliamentary Opposition willing to use its parliamentary position to advance special and vested interests. The people of Guyana are called on to express their outrage at this Opposition for being barefaced enough to challenge an attempt by the Cabinet to save the nation nearly $2.8 billion, and instead for trying to advance its own special interests by foisting on the nation a bill for an additional $2.8 billion.
“This incident also drives home clearly the importance of retaining the Cabinet no objection to contract awards above a certain level. Had this Cabinet right of no objection been denied, as is the Opposition’s wont, the nation would have been $2.8 billion poorer for the absence of Cabinet oversight.”