Lowest bidder wins: Contract awarding policy questioned

Senators say such policy leads to compromise on quality

The policy of awarding contracts to the lowest bidder was called into question by a panel of senators on Tuesday as they claimed that more often than not, it leads to a lowering in quality standards.

This was discussed as the Senate House Committee met at the Parliament Lodges on Tuesday with Senator Saleem Mandviwala in the chair.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the committee reviewed the minutes of past two meetings of the committee and went through each recommendation seeking its implementation status.

The committee had previously directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to remove rubble from the lodges and to dispose of it as per rules and policy followed by submission of a comprehensive report.

The committee was told that the CDA has begun the process of shifting scrap material from the lodges to the Machine Pool Organisation (MPO) yard and that this process is due to be completed within four days.

It was further revealed that this scrap material shall be disposed of through an auction.

Senator Mandviwalla also inquired about the status of the construction of an additional block in the lodges.

Reviewing the status of litigation between the contractor for building the additional block, Habib Rafiq (Pvt) Limited and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and its possible legal implications and a possible way out, the committee was told that a tribunal had awarded the contractor Rs613. 18 million on account of claims made by it. CDA officials said that they had already challenged this award before the competent court.

CDA Chairman Afzal Lateef stressed on the need for separating the arbitration from the project for steady progress by entering into a meaningful dialogue with the contractor so as to reach an amicable solution.

Lateef further briefed the committee about the state of cleanliness at the lodges and the status of contracting janitorial services.  He said that they have yet to award the janitorial contract, adding that approval shall be sought before any company is contracted.

The committee’s direction to the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) secretary to ensure the availability of ambulances at both, the Parliament House and at the Parliament Lodges and to submit a compliance report to the committee was also reviewed.

Deputy Senate Chairman Mandviwala noted that the issue will now have to be taken up with the health division since CADD had been devolved following a recent notification from the Cabinet Division. He directed that officials from the health division be summoned in the next meeting of the committee.

The committee also reviewed violations of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules while formulating contracts with the government.

At this, Senator Kulsoom Parveen said that to facilitate the process, PPRA rules could be revised after taking the CDA on board.

In the last two meetings of the committee, Mandviwalla had directed the CDA to evaluate two options shared by the National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) and take a clear position. Reviewing this directive, the committee was told that CDA was still evaluating all available options to resolve the issues, adding that they were in consultation with CDA’s legal wing and the contractor for an early completion of the project.

While discussing the maintenance of Parliament Lodges and approved utilization work plan for the year 2018-19, Senator Mandviwalla expressed concerns over the delay in payments for projects and stated that it was sad to see schemes stalling owing to delays in disbursing funds.

He also criticised the system for awarding projects to the lowest bidder, saying that it was extremely disastrous since the quality of work is more often than not compromised.

In view of the demands by resident members inside the Parliament Lodges, the CDA chairman was directed to look into the possibility of undertaking makeshift arrangements following the eviction of shopkeepers in the lodges. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2018.