BY BARNABAS MANEBONA
RESIDENTS of Taro Station and citizens of Choiseul Province as a whole raise concern on what they term as usual unfairness over selection for contract Tenders.
They say it is the same group of contractors who are usually awarded with contracts while others never succeed when doing bids over and over again.
“Contractors and citizens of the province are now calling on the Choiseul Provincial Ministry of Works and the Tender Board Committee to be fair in screening and awarding Tenders,” said Mr Nerio Ulemiki, the media coordinator for Christ the King Parish at Voruvoru.
The Provincial Capacity Development Advisor of Choiseul Provincial Government Korolyn Zutu however rebuffs the query that it is the same contractors that are usually given contracts.
She said Tender applications will close on March 12 as they will at the same time open tenders and have a Technical Evaluation Committee to go through all the forms to screen which applications fit the criteria.
“After this procedure then the Tender Board will do awarding to contractors from recommendations,” said Zutu.
“So the procedure is not based on a one man decision to be biased. Most people do not understand the process. It is a long process in which we do not just receive applications and do automatic selections.”
In support according to the Provincial Secretary (PS) of Choiseul Province Mr Jeffery Pakipota, provincial projects awarded to contractors depend on the evaluation process.
“Applications are guided by very strict criteria’s going through committee’s evaluation procedure for screenings and recommendations.
“Some of the guidelines through the screening process are applications must be valid, responsive and bids are acceptably reasonable.”
