It does not happen every time, but depending on the project, prospective bidders will be invited to a pre-bid meeting. This meeting, which might also be called a site visit or pre-proposal meeting, is usually scheduled a week or two after the initial request for bids or proposals has been issued, and are usually conducted in person, at a venue identified by the event organiser.
In the midst of the hustle, it can seem an annoyance to allocate couple of hours to attend a pre-bid meeting. However, when such a session has been arranged, and you have an interest in responding to the tender, it is strongly recommended that you (or a member of your team) attend. Here are five reasons.
1. You get to meet the procuring entity
More likely than not, the organisers and hosts of the pre-bid meeting will be members of the procurement team, who are managing the tender process for and on behalf of the organisation that will benefit from the tender. The opportunity to engage – and to start building a relationship – with the procurement team (and the organisation’s representatives) could be quite helpful not only for both you and them to put ‘a name to the face’, but also should you have additional questions after the session has ended.
2. You can scope out the likely competition
Generally, the entities that attend the pre-bid meeting are those that are seriously considering responding to the tender. As such, they are your likely competition, should you also decide to respond. The meeting thus providing an invaluable opportunity to size up your competition, and to get a sense of the number of entities that are interested in the project. It is also an opportunity to network. Although you all might be competitors this time around, they could also be potential collaborators on a future project.
3. You can get a better understanding of the project
One of the main objectives of the pre-bid meeting is to explain details of the proposed project and the tender process, as appropriate, that could not be clearly explained in the tender documents. Depending on the project, a site visit could be included, which allows prospective bidders to better contextualise the project requirements or specifications. As a result, the tender response can be more realistic and better aligned to the actual needs and situation of the client, and not a hypothetical or theoretical construct, based on solely on the information provided in the solicitation documents.
4. You can get clarification to your questions
Even with the best efforts when preparing the solicitation documents, prospective bidders are likely to have queries on their content. The pre-bid meeting is an excellent forum to address them. Although you might have your own questions, which the meeting organisers can address, you are also likely to benefit considerably from the questions asked by other prospective bidders, which you might not even have thought of, or would just confirm what you had initially assumed.
5. You are more likely to prepare a better submission
Finally, responding to tenders can be time consuming, and it can be disappointing when your effort has not been rewarded with either being shortlisted for further consideration by the evaluation team, or being awarded the project. In attending a pre-bid meeting, and thus being able to incorporate the findings and insights gleaned from that experience into your tender response, the final submission should be considerably better than if you had not attended the meeting.
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Former transport minister Devant Maharaj wants the Integrity Commission to investigate the procurement process used in the purchase of a ferry for the sea bridge by a Cabinet appointed inter-ministerial committee.
He is also seeking answers as to when the Government made a decision to purchase a vessel “without any transparent process,” which he said “clearly violated the Central Tenders Board Act.
Detailing the sequence of events in a letter to chairman of the Integrity Commission Justice Melville Baird dated January 16, 2018, Maharaj noted that from the public statements made by the Government “the purchase of the boat was made before January 7, 2018, but after November 2017.”
Given that the Cabinet sub-committee was constituted on November 30 to oversee the procurement of the vessel for the sea-bridge, he said, “It is reasonable to assume that the location, examination and purchase of the vessel was completed in the month of December.”
But having closely analysed the “factual matrix of this transaction, I am of the firm belief that this matter warrants the attention of the commission and further warrants the invocation of the investigative function of the commission.”
He said an investigation by the commission should not only be triggered by a complaint from a member of the public, but by the “duty to the public to act on its own volition where the facts of any transaction causes the commission to be of the view that a matter warrants investigation.”
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Reacting to Finance Minister Colm Imbert’s disclosures on the purchase of a new vessel for the seabridge, former Transport Minister Devant Maharaj accused Imbert of continuing to “obfuscate the issue without clarifying the core issues surrounding the procurement of the new ferry.”
Maharaj said Imbert’s statement left the door open for speculation that a financier of the ruling party or a PNM Minister recommended the vessel.
On Wednesday, Maharaj wrote to the Integrity Commission calling for an investigation into the procurement process used to acquire the new vessel.
While Imbert said the procurement process is being done by NIDCO, Maharaj said it appeared from what the inter-ministerial team, headed by Imbert, did the procurement process was also skewed because “identification of a vessel is an integral part of the procurement process.”
He said the ministerial committee having identified and selected a vessel to be purchased raised questions as to “what exact procurement process did the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (NIDCO) undertake?”
He has also questioned why there was “no tender by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to purchase a vessel as was done when it wanted to lease a vessel.”
Maharaj said there were a number of questions which the Minister failed to address including:
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The appointment at last, on Friday of the inaugural Procurement Board is a signal moment in this country’s history. It marks the first serious attempt since the passing of the 1961 act establishing the Central Tenders Board to eradicate sleaze in public affairs.
Under the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act 2015, the new board has tremendous powers, powers which not even the Central Tenders Board has.
The new appointees can investigate, conduct audits and inspections and, crucially, give orders to any public body, from State-controlled enterprises right up to the Office of the President.
The importance of the new system cannot be over-emphasised. Given our country’s history of graft — from O’Halloran right up to LifeSport – there is a clear and present need to protect the public purse.
The slowdown in the economy also means systems championing the values of integrity, value for money and inclusion of local content are more crucial than ever.
While we welcome the appointment, we cannot help but express dismay over the inordinate length of time that has elapsed since the passing of the 2015 legislation, which was itself the end product of a legislative process that took five years. The State needs to do a better job when it comes to passing legislation, setting up public agencies and devising regulations.
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– cites fraud, collusion
A local contractor is the latest to have been blacklisted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
According to the most recent list of blacklisted companies and individuals that are barred from participating in IDB contracts, Vevakanand Dalip Enterprises and Vevakanand Dalip, its principal, have been barred for the period December 29, 2017 to December 28, 2030. That means that the company will not be able to tender for IDB contracts for 13 years.
Dalip was blacklisted for “Fraudulent and Collusive Practices”.
Dalip, reportedly based in Lethem, Region Nine, has been bidding for state contracts.
It has not been the first time that local contractors and individuals have been barred by IDB, one of the biggest funders of government projects.
It was learnt last year that the previous Coordinator of the Citizen’s Security Programme, Abel Khemraj Rai, was banned for eight years from August 23, 2016 to August 22, 2024.
Four other companies and individuals that seem to have connections with Rai – including Sidrai Radiator Works, Sidrai Enterprises, Siddaharta Rai and Ron Jaisari – were also sanctioned and banned for four to eight years. They were also found guilty of fraudulent and collusive practices. The last four are reportedly from Trinidad.
Western Scientific Company Limited from Trinidad which did business with Guyana was also handed a four-year ban from March 31, 2016 to October 15, 2020. However, the company controversially received a $30M contract from the Ministry of Public Health last year.
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