The award of the contract in the sum of $566.9 million to Kares Engineering Inc. for reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School has generated much criticism. The company was the third lowest from among nine tenders received. According to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), the two lower tenders were deemed non-responsive, making Kares Engineering the lowest responsive tender. However, by Section 39(2) of the Procurement Act, a procurement contract must be awarded to the lowest evaluated tender and not lowest responsive tender.
Lowest evaluated tender versus lowest responsive tender
The Act does not provide a definition as to what constitutes the lowest evaluated tender. However, following the bid opening ceremony, the procuring entity (Ministry, Department or Region) must transmit to the appointed Evaluation Committee all tenders received from contractors or suppliers. The Committee shall evaluate the tenders using only those criteria outlined in the tender documents, which have to be qualified in monetary terms, in addition to prices.
