Belize Business Bureau calls for a Commission of Inquiry on Questionable Contracts
The Belize Business Bureau is calling for a commission of inquiry into a contract that may have been facilitated with insider information and influence. The Bureau’s President Arturo Lizarraga has written the Contractor General Omar Mitchel expressing concerns with a specific tender process and bid selection. In the letter, Lizarraga tells Mitchel that the Bureau has (quote) been made aware that the Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) was assigned the procurement responsibility for the purchase of weather stations for the Belize Meteorological Office (BMO) back in 2020 under the ERCAP project via the tender process. (unquote) According to the letter, the Belize Business Bureau did some investigation and found out that the original weather station and pricing was obtained from Campbell Scientific and that they became the benchmark for the tender assessment. The Bureau also found out that this same company, Campbell Scientific was allowed to bid and subsequently selected even though they were not the lowest of the 4 bids. Reporter Hipolito Novelo has the story.
On its website the National Meteorological Service says that in an effort to standardize the sensors and equipment used in automatic weather station network it uses equipment from Campbell Scientific, an international brand with offices in dozens of countries. It began operations in Central America in 2009 and its specialty is hydrology, meteorology and agriculture.
The company is still active and tonight the Belize Business Bureau is calling for a commission of inquiry into a contract the company received in 2020. This is a copy of a letter dated March third sent by the Bureau’s president Arturo Lizarraga to the Contractor General Omar Mitchel who is informed of a contract between BEL and Campbell Scientific. It has an estimated value of $1.8 million and is for the procurement of weather stations for the met office. Concerns are being expressed regarding the tendering process and the bid selection and that’s because the Bureau’s investigation revealed that the original weather station and pricing was obtained from Campbell Scientific which then became a benchmark for the tender assessment. The investigation also revealed that Campbell scientific not only submitted a bid but also won the contract even though the company’s bid was not the lowest of the four submitted. In fact, a local company’s bid was lower and the Bureau says that the local supplier’s bid was soundly rejected for no substantive reason. Allowing, Campbell Scientific created an unfair playing field and it begs the question was this contract may have been facilitated with insider information and influence? We asked Mitchel this and he told Love News, that is a fear and refused to comment further. However, Mitchell did assured our Newsroom that he is on “top of things” and will not approve anything until his mind is clear, that it’s transparent and that the interests of the people of Belize are being served at all times. He says that he will not endorse any contract documentation unless he is certain that the interests of the people of this country are being served.
Lizarraga also wrote to BEL CEO, Andrew Marshalleck, telling him that having an unfair or rigged bidding procurement process does not bode well for any enterprise. Lizarraga is asking for BEL to investigate the matter to ensure that it was done right with a procurement process that is transparent and not a fixed bid, where the local business cannot win.
Mitchel has written to the Financial Secretary, procurement officer in the Ministry of Finance, the CEO of BEL, Belize Meteorological Office, asking for clarification on four areas. The Office of the Prime Minister has been made aware of the matter.
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