Mobile Health Units: ‘Blacklisted’ company awarded contract
Health Dept says three bidders disqualified.
LAHORE:
The Health Department has given a Rs3 billion tender to procure 50 mobile health units (MHUs) to a firm allegedly blacklisted for procurement by its attached department for poor quality.
Official documents available to The Express Tribune state that the firm was blacklisted by the Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) on May 28, 2011 for supplying poor quality equipment to Lahore General Hospital worth more than Rs100 million. A copy of the notice issued to the firm was forwarded to the health secretary and other officials concerned.
They state that after the Health Department had advertised technical specifications for the MHUs, eight private companies had participated in the tender bid. These were Western Scientific Traders, Shirazi Trading Company, Medi Urge, Raditech, MCC/Ahmad Medix, Hoora Pharma, Pro Health and Ozawa Traders.
A five-member committee was constituted by the department to evaluate the tender proposals. On November 25, 2011 the committee approved four firms for further evaluation.
The Health Department then made minor requests for confirmation of certain aspects of the bids submitted by these four companies. The aspects were clarified by the technical department.
On January 4, 2012, the Health Department invited the four bidders to a meeting at the office of the Planning and Development chairman and disqualified three. The next day, the financial opening was, however, carried out on a single bid basis on January 5, and the rest of the three bidders were disqualified.
A Health Department official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the offers given by the other companies were better than bid that was selected.
“One of the three disqualified companies has registered a complaint with the chief secretary against the single bid basis. It has also accused the department of bias,” he said.
An official at the chief secretary’s office confirmed that an application in this regard has been received. However, no action has been taken so far.
Additional Secretary (Development) Usman Moazzam ruled out any bias in the awarding of the contract. He said the department procured six MHUs in 2011. The chief minister wanted to procure MHUs from the same company again, he said. Despite this, he said, they advertised the technical specifications.
“We made a team headed by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority managing director to scrutinise the process properly. Everything has been decided on merit.”
When asked about the selected firm being blacklisted by the PGMI, Moazzam said he did not know about it.
The MUHs will be sent to Basic Health Units and Rural Health Centers across the Punjab. Each unit will have an examination room, gynaecology and obstetrics area, a humidifier, an X-ray machine, an ultra-sound machine and other equipment. Doctors in these units will visit various districts to examine people at their doorsteps.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2012.
The Health Department has given a Rs3 billion tender to procure 50 mobile health units (MHUs) to a firm allegedly blacklisted for procurement by its attached department for poor quality.
Official documents available to The Express Tribune state that the firm was blacklisted by the Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) on May 28, 2011 for supplying poor quality equipment to Lahore General Hospital worth more than Rs100 million. A copy of the notice issued to the firm was forwarded to the health secretary and other officials concerned.
They state that after the Health Department had advertised technical specifications for the MHUs, eight private companies had participated in the tender bid. These were Western Scientific Traders, Shirazi Trading Company, Medi Urge, Raditech, MCC/Ahmad Medix, Hoora Pharma, Pro Health and Ozawa Traders.
A five-member committee was constituted by the department to evaluate the tender proposals. On November 25, 2011 the committee approved four firms for further evaluation.
The Health Department then made minor requests for confirmation of certain aspects of the bids submitted by these four companies. The aspects were clarified by the technical department.
On January 4, 2012, the Health Department invited the four bidders to a meeting at the office of the Planning and Development chairman and disqualified three. The next day, the financial opening was, however, carried out on a single bid basis on January 5, and the rest of the three bidders were disqualified.
A Health Department official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the offers given by the other companies were better than bid that was selected.
“One of the three disqualified companies has registered a complaint with the chief secretary against the single bid basis. It has also accused the department of bias,” he said.
An official at the chief secretary’s office confirmed that an application in this regard has been received. However, no action has been taken so far.
Additional Secretary (Development) Usman Moazzam ruled out any bias in the awarding of the contract. He said the department procured six MHUs in 2011. The chief minister wanted to procure MHUs from the same company again, he said. Despite this, he said, they advertised the technical specifications.
“We made a team headed by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority managing director to scrutinise the process properly. Everything has been decided on merit.”
When asked about the selected firm being blacklisted by the PGMI, Moazzam said he did not know about it.
The MUHs will be sent to Basic Health Units and Rural Health Centers across the Punjab. Each unit will have an examination room, gynaecology and obstetrics area, a humidifier, an X-ray machine, an ultra-sound machine and other equipment. Doctors in these units will visit various districts to examine people at their doorsteps.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 12th, 2012.