Moonilal wants probe into PoSGH contract bid
Trinidad and Tobago
Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal believes a technical glitch which caused the Urban Development Corporation (UDECOTT) e-tender platform to introduce a third bidder on the Port-of-Spain General Hospital Central Block project, days after the bidding was closed, should be immediately investigated, as the matter points to bid-rigging and improper conduct of procurement.
Speaking at a United National Congress media conference at the Office of the Opposition Leader in Port-of-Spain yesterday, Moonilal made the comment as he referred to a Sunday Guardian article headlined “Companies upset after ‘technical glitch’ introduced a third bidder for UDECOTT hospital contract.”
The article reported that State companies UDECOTT and the Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT) are defending a “technical glitch” that caused UDECOTT’s e-Tender platform to introduce a third bidder on the project days after the bidding was closed.
The article reported that at the close of bidding on May 20, two bidders and their respective prices were listed as successfully uploaded on the e-tender platform, which is managed by UDECOTT but technologically supported by TSTT.
However, after the bids were in and the tender was officially closed, two companies — Yorke Structures and Steel Structures — were the only companies listed as successful and both were told to prepare for a presentation of their methodology the coming Monday. After both presentations, they were only then informed that a third company was also in the mix and would be presenting the same day.
Expressing his disgust at this new development, Moonilal yesterday said, “So the first two which you opened and you saw…you would have seen the amount and data for two bidders …and the third bidder the documents came in late…that company would have already known the contents of the first two bids. Even the third bidder hypothetically, I cast no aspersions, could have had information on the first two bids. But they are saying that what happened, they really put it on time, but it did not come in on time because there was a glitch.”
Moonilal said this incident requires “a full inquiry and investigation because there is now the issue that the third bidder appears to be the successful bidder.”
“So, the glitch, whatever it was, didn’t make no difference in that sense. But this speaks to a very serious matter. This speaks of issues of bid-rigging. This speaks of issues of improper conduct of procurement,” he said.
The Opposition MP said the only right-thinking thing to do is to have a fresh tendering process. He said the project has taken a new twist and seemed to be surrounded by blight, mismanagement and corruption, “if it is a glitch occurred and a third bidder came in after the time has gone but apparently sent it in before the time but could not upload.”
Moonilal said eventually, these issues will form a burden on the back of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and the Government “and hopefully, with the help of God and the people, we will remove this Government.”
image: Buildings-construction