Despite a legal battle in which a local bidder challenged the manner in which the Public Procurement Disposal Board (PPADB) conducted and later cancelled the controversial P500 million Charles Hill/Ncojane road project, the board has decided to go ahead with the retendering of the same tender. Responding to questions from reporters at a press briefing this week, PPADB Executive Director (works) Elijah Motshedi said PPADB had cancelled the previous tender and retendered.
“Yes somebody is challenging the previous tender before the court. But as we speak the new tender is at an evaluation stage,” he said. The judgement of the urgent application, which was launched by Tau Grading Construction, on the 3rd May, is still pending before Gaborone High Court judge Justice Michael Mothobi. Touching on other issues, Motshedi said the government is addressing the issue of limited participation in big projects by citizen contactors through the introduction of Citizen Economic Empowerment Policy under which non citizen contractors shall sub-contract up to 30 percent of works to citizen owned contractors. “Any non-citizen contractor must go into that project with a citizen contractor and ensure that the citizen contractor actively participates,” he said. He added that as part of encouraging the participation of citizen contractors, they held a workshop recently with banks to assist citizen contractors to comply with bonds. For her part, PPADB Executive Chairperson Bridget Poppy John assured members of the public that her office is independent.
Answering a question from reporters who wanted to know what her opinion was on suggestion that the office needs operational independence through among others legal immunity to withstand political influence, John said “We are administering an Act of Parliament and we are operationally independent.” “No one can fire the Executive Chairman because he or she will be violating an Act of Parliament because we are operationally independent,” she said. On some of the challenges that they face, John gave an account of an incident in which one of the bidders who had lost a tender sneaked through the security guards and went into the office. “The loser of the tender attempted to kill one of our officers. But what people must know is that a decision is taken by the board not an individual,” she said. She also advised contractors who suspect corrupt practices to report such cases to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) rather than approaching the media.
“I know that DCEC will pick it from the media but if you feel hard done and feel that you have been unfairly treated, rather than going to the media, why not report the matter to the DCEC. Who knows your complaint might give you what you want. That is why the law has provided that kind of mechanism,” she said. The PPADB board secretary Masingoaneng Ramodimoosi allayed fears that the board is not independent saying immunity is not only provided for in the Act for the Executive Chairman but also for the others members of the board. She said they are currently dealing with seven cases whether the contractors should be suspended or delisted.
