Water for All project tender scam looms large over political instability
Even before the dust settled following the action of Water Supply Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara to remain independent in Parliament making the ministry virtually headless, details of an irregular tender of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) have come to light.
A tender manipulation with favoritism in the procurement of necessary accessories for 10 water supply projects under US$ 50 million credit cover of the “Water for All” programme, a concept of the President, has been exposed, Finance Ministry sources said.
Details of tender irregularity at time of the severe dollar crunch have been detected following an inspection made by the Treasury on a complaint made by the NWSDB engineers union to the Finance Ministry, a senior ministry official said.
Measures have been taken to implement water supply projects countrywide under the “Water for All” programme and tenders have been called to purchase necessary accessories to the value of $ 100 million with one year credit facility.
However considering the present dollar situation in the country, the water supply board has decided to purchase accessories for 10 projects only with a $ 50 million credit cover, relevant bid documents revealed.
Four bidders have submitted their bids for the supply of accessories and the Ministry has decided to consider the bids of only two bidders deviating from the normal procurement procedure of awarding the tender to the lowest suitable bidder, according to official documents.
The Finance Ministry has not been informed about the preliminary procurement process; the senior official said adding that all these details came to light when the Treasury consent was sought for the $50 million credit cover.
The approval from the External Resources Department ( ERD) of the ministry would have to be obtained to implement the projects involving foreign exchange for the importation of necessary accessories, he disclosed.
However a high ranking official of the Water Supply Ministry said that the procurement process of these water supply projects has been suspended at present and any irregularity could be rectified.
He noted that necessary action would be taken to recall tenders following the appointment of a new minister and a secretary after restoring the political stability in the country.
The Finance Ministry has not been informed about the preliminary procurement process; the senior official said adding that all these details came to light when the Treasury consent was sought for the $50 million credit cover.