Bid Protest Committee rules in favour of Puran Brothers

In an historic decision, the Bid Protest Committee (BPC) has ruled in favour of Puran Brothers Disposal in relation to an appeal by Cevons Waste Management over the award of a $221m one-year contract for the management of the Haags Bosch Landfill site.

This was disclosed in a statement released today by the Ministry of Communities which was the procuring entity.

The  full decision by the BPC has not been released so far. This is the first decision by the Bid Protest Committee which was set up several months ago.

A statement by the Ministry of Communities follows:

The Bid Protest Committee (BPC) on Friday issued a ruling in the appeal by Mr Morse Archer and Ivor Allen of Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. against the decision to award a contract to Puran Brothers Disposal Inc. for the management of the Haags Bosch Sanitary Landfill.

However, the Ministry of Communities must await the outcome of a court injunction which is pending in relation to the signing of the contract with Puran Brothers Disposal Inc.

The ministry wishes to assure the public that work will soon begin on other sanitary landfills across the country including Linden, Bartica and Mahdia and contractors through (single or joint venture mechanism) are free to offer and provide such sanitation services.

However, the ministry wishes to make it clear that it will continue to follow the outlined procedures, protocols, and guidelines outlined in the Procurement Act.

A nine-page decision was handed down by Chairperson of the Bid Protest Committee, attorney-at-law, Joann Bond on September 30, 2016.

A written ruling was issued to all the parties involved and the committee expressed gratitude to Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. for following through with the process.

The procuring entity has since been advised to continue with the procurement process.

On July 12, 2016, Cevons challenged the decision to award the contract to Puran Brothers for the management of the landfill and requested a review of the award.

Cevon’s based his claim for a review on four main arguments; technical competence, low price, operation methodology and past performance all of which were addressed in the ruling.