Smoke detected in P204m tourism tender
Consultant scores Sharps Construction best bidder Sharps, Banco overwhelmed with projects - claim We take protection of whistleblowers very serious - DCEC
In the swirling tempest of controversy surrounding the P204 million Ministry of Environment and Tourism project in Kasane, some aggrieved bidders have taken the route to report the matter to the corruption busting agency, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime ( DCEC),
Botswana Guardian has established. The project is about the construction and proposed replacement of infrastructure for institutional housing at Plot 9478 in Kasane. The tender has sparked fierce debate after the consultant’s decision to crown Sharps Construction as the best bidder for the project. The plot thickens as Sharps Construction’s bid emerges as one of the most expensive, adding fuel to the already raging fire. With both Sharps Construction and Banco Enterprise juggling a multitude of projects, concerns over their capacity to deliver loom large.
Botswana Guardian has learnt that the aggrieved bidders recently met with one of the senior investigators at Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime ( DCEC) for a meeting where they lodged the complaint. Sources have revealed that the aggrieved bidders have been requested to put up their complaint in writing. The intrigue is said to have deepened when the bidders acted as whistleblowers and took the matter to the DCEC, further intensifying the storm surrounding the high- stakes procurement process.
It is alleged that the aggrieved suspect possible collusion between some officers at the Ministry and some bidders. The project’s consultants are Sectaf Architects ( Pty) Ltd. Inside sources have revealed that the tender is currently at evaluation stage and is due for award before the end of the month.
According to leaked valuation results, Sharps Construction scored a total of 94 points whilst all other companies scored below the 90 mark rating. The rest of the companies scored as follows; Ezra & Ezra Construction – 81, Ossy & Sons Investments – 85, Classic/ A. S/ Zebra Joint Venture – 83, Phangastin Projects TRS Joint Venture 81, Banco Enterprise – 88 and Mido Construction – 83.
“You need to understand that this rating system has not been used for evaluating tenders of late, mainly because it has a lot of loopholes that can be used to favour certain contractors. The disparity between Sharps Construction and other companies is a smoking gun. These are all Grade E companies and the difference is just too much,” Revealed one of the aggrieved on condition of anonymity.
In terms of pricing, bidders’ prices are as follows; Ezra & Ezra - P200 936 521.02 ( 99 weeks), Ossy n Sons – P221 428 016.19 ( 86 weeks), Classic/ A. S/ Zebra Joint Venture – P203 473 175.56 ( 78 weeks), Phangastin Projects TRS Joint Venture – P200 052 509.44 ( 78 weeks), Banco Enterprise – P196 917 499.86 ( 87 weeks), Mido Construction P198 099 766.50 ( 87 weeks) and Sharps Construction – P < a href=” tel: 202 806 516.42”> 202 806 516.42 ( 80 weeks). The Ministry’s Pre- Estimated budget for the project as per the tender document is P204 000 000.
It has also been queried that the two leading bidders Sharps Construction and Banco Enterprise currently have a number of ongoing projects, some of which are behind schedule.
Meanwhile, DCEC Public Relations Officer, Lentswe Motshoganetsi told
Botswana Guardian that he was in no position to comment on the agency’s operational matters with third parties. Concerned contractors are understood to have requested a meeting with both the Minister of Tourism Phildah Kereng and her Permanent Secretary, Grace Muzila.
Motshoganetsi further told this publication that the agency has not received any allegation relating to the “tender for the construction and replacement of infrastructure for institutional housing” for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Kasane. He said the DCEC however is open to receive any information relating to corruption at any time. Motshoganetsi stated that the DCEC takes whistle- blowers and their protection very seriously.
“There are efforts in place to protect a whistle- blower such as giving an option to any person making a report to the DCEC to reveal themselves or report anonymously. Furthermore, there are legal instruments in place, such as the Whistle Blowing Act and Sections 19A and 19B of the Corruption and Economic Crime Act ( CECA) which prohibits disclosure of information on investigative matters and criminalises intimidation of whistle- blowers by any person who may have information on a matter under Sections 44 and 45 ( CECA),” he said.