PPC took eight months to throw out complaint by R Kissoon over D&I pumps bid

-disputed contract was signed on New Year’s Day, evaluation committee erred on two guidelines

It took eight months for the PPC to throw out a complaint by R Kissoon Contracting Services over a bid for D&I pumps but more irregularities have surfaced in the tendering system including errors by the evaluation committee and the signing of the disputed contract on January 1st 2023, a national holiday.

R Kissoon complained to the Public Procurement Commission (PPC)  on January 24, 2023 that its bids for the maintenance and servicing of drainage and irrigation pumps were unsuccessful even though they were the lowest for two lots and met all of the requirements. It said to the PPC that it had lodged a complaint with the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) but had gotten no response within the statutory period. The Procurement Act requires the lodging of a bid protest with the procuring entity, in this case the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and not the NPTAB.