{"id":18779,"date":"2021-10-07T21:39:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T02:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=18779"},"modified":"2021-10-07T20:25:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T01:25:33","slug":"pm-briceno-responds-the-bcci-over-issues-surrounding-gobs-contract-with-smart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/pm-briceno-responds-the-bcci-over-issues-surrounding-gobs-contract-with-smart\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Briceno Responds the BCCI Over Issues Surrounding GOB\u2019s Contract with Smart"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Belize<\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister John Briceno has responded to the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) on the issue of SMART\u2019s contract on the Microsoft 365 contract. Briceno told the BCCI that their claim for a fair and level playing field would mean giving all suppliers an unbiased opportunity to bid and to be selected fairly. The letter further states, quote, \u201c(1) According to the Chamber, BTL should be allowed to match the prices that are in the market, but you give no recognition to the fact that it is free competition within the market that sets the fair market value of the service. What you propose in our view constitutes a monopoly for BTL with regard to any telecommunications service to be offered to the government. However, the regulatory framework in Belize under the Telecommunications Act does not contemplate or support the operation of such a monopoly. (2) Please be advised that we did not use a \u201cselective tendering process\u201d in relation to the contract for the Microsoft software licenses. Pursuant to the Finance and Audit (Reform) Act (the \u201cAct\u201d), the Government is empowered to enter into procurement of contracts using either the limited tendering procedure, the open tendering procedure or the selective tendering procedure.<\/p>\n<p>In this case the limited tendering process was used.\u201d End of quote. The 2-page letter goes on to state that the tendering process was done transparently and that there was no preference shown in the process. It continued saying, quote, \u201cWe categorically reject your assertion that we are \u201cdiverting\u201d business from the BTL to SMART. CITO went to great lengths to ensure the process used was transparent and fair to all parties invited to tender. There was a bid committee, the requirements were put to all those invited to bid at a meeting attended by all of them, the bids were password protected, and the bids were opened live by the committee in the presence of all bidders. BTL was even allowed to submit an updated bid. In the end, the party with the lowest bid was successful in accordance with the terms of the procurement. As a government we are bound contractually to accept the outcome of the process. It is not open to us to change the rules of the process because some do not like the outcome.\u201d End of quote. The response from the Prime Minister has to do with the contract awarded to SMART which is a company whose shareholders include relatives of PM Briceno.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lovefm.com\/pm-briceno-responds-the-bcci-over-issues-surrounding-gobs-contract-with-smart\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Image: pexels-nothing-ahead<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Belize Prime Minister John Briceno has responded to the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) on the issue of SMART\u2019s contract on the Microsoft 365 contract. Briceno told the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":18780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[250],"tags":[160,121,71],"class_list":["post-18779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-articles","tag-belize","tag-caribbean","tag-procurement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/pexels-nothing-ahead-4567339.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-4ST","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18111,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/gob-switches-to-smart-for-licenses-of-microsoft-office-365\/","url_meta":{"origin":18779,"position":0},"title":"GOB Switches to Smart for Licenses of Microsoft Office 365","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"August 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Belize\u00a0 And with all the questions and concerns expressed by UDP Leader, Patrick Faber the government was quick to issue a press release. According to the release local and regional authorized resellers of Microsoft Office 365 Products were invited to submit quotes for the renewal of the Government\u2019s Office 365\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News\/Developments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16501,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/contractor-general-takes-strong-stance-on-procurement-practices\/","url_meta":{"origin":18779,"position":1},"title":"Contractor General takes Strong Stance on Procurement Practices","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"May 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Contractor General Omar Mitchell is taking a strong stance on procurement practices. Love News received an internal memo from the Office of the Contractor General which explains the rules to awarding of contracts and procurement practices. Hipolito Novelo reports. On page three of this memo, under \u201cConfidentiality\u201d it reads that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16303,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/belize-business-bureau-calls-for-a-commission-of-inquiry-on-questionable-contracts\/","url_meta":{"origin":18779,"position":2},"title":"Belize Business Bureau calls for a Commission of Inquiry on Questionable Contracts","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"April 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Belize Business Bureau is calling for a commission of inquiry into a contract that may have been facilitated with insider information and influence.\u00a0 The Bureau\u2019s President Arturo Lizarraga has written the Contractor General Omar Mitchel expressing concerns with a specific tender process and bid selection. In the letter, Lizarraga\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News\/Developments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-burst-374899-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-burst-374899-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-burst-374899-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-burst-374899-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-burst-374899-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5834,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/doing-business-in-belize-a-procurement-perspective\/","url_meta":{"origin":18779,"position":3},"title":"Doing Business in Belize: A Procurement Perspective","author":"Michele Marius","date":"June 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting event went unnoticed this past week. It was Belize Social Investment Fund (BSIF)Sensitization Workshop held at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza last Thursday. It was organized with the objective of sensitizing suppliers, contractors and service providers of available procurement opportunities under its Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News\/Developments&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Procurement-in-handwriting-The-Blue-Diamond-Gallery.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36028,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/belize-and-us-virgin-islands-progress-large-scale-bess-projects\/","url_meta":{"origin":18779,"position":4},"title":"Belize and US Virgin Islands progress large-scale BESS projects","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"August 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Belize and United States Virgin Islands The Central American country of Belize is seeking services related to the procurement of a 40MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project. The Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from consultants and experts to assist it with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-pok-rie-33563-189524-scaled-e1724976802906.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-pok-rie-33563-189524-scaled-e1724976802906.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-pok-rie-33563-189524-scaled-e1724976802906.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pexels-pok-rie-33563-189524-scaled-e1724976802906.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28756,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/ministry-of-transport-faces-questions-over-controversial-payment-to-the-sign-factory\/","url_meta":{"origin":18779,"position":5},"title":"Ministry of Transport Faces Questions Over Controversial Payment to The Sign Factory","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"July 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Belize As if there were not enough fires for the Government to be putting out, there is another report tonight that requires some answers, particularly, from the Ministry of Transport.\u00a0\u00a0A letter, purportedly sent by Chief Executive Officer, Adele Catzim, is now questioning a payment of over one hundred and eight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Contract-agreement-signature-Pixabay-Pexels.jpeg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1091"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18779"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18804,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18779\/revisions\/18804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}