Posted by SAMART Gambia Limited were approached by the commissioner of license in July 2018 about an impending tender for vehicle number plates. After a consultation with the Deputy Inspector General of Police who confirmed to us that they were not happy with the current quality and want to switch to aluminium number plates, we wrote a letter to the IG accompanied by a sample catalogue stating our interest to supply the aluminium number plates. We also presented a physical sample of the plates which the IG was happy with the quality.
In late October 2018, a formal offer was sent to the Inspector General of Police. We later received a letter of interest from the office of the Inspector General of Police, which also stated the names of the team they will like to visit the company in Spain. On December 2nd, the team which comprised Abdoulie Sanyang, Demba Sowe, Ali Faye and myself travelled to Barcelona to visit the plant.
Upon our return, I wrote a proposal to the Ministry of Interior and copied to the IGP dated December 12th 2018. I was later informed by the Ministry of Interior that the number plate will now be subjected to open bidding, I was shortlisted for the tender based on RFQ. I submitted my tender on January 16 2019, a letter was sent to us dated February 8th 2019 stating that our bid was unsuccessful.
In line with GPPA Act, I requested an explanation for the unsuccessful bid but was not satisfied with the reasons given, as a matter of fact most of the said reasons were categorically untrue. I wrote a letter to the Complaints Review Board as provided in the GPPA Act 2014, the ruling which was delivered on March 18th 2019 highlighted that the financial bid of SAMART should be considered. I received another letter on March 24, informing of the re-evaluation which has taken place and that our bid was unsuccessful. Upon receiving this letter, I decided to take legal actions based on the inconsistencies of the reasons for disqualification as per their letters dated February 19 and April 24 2019 respectively.
We also wrote a petition to the Office of the President and copied to the Ministry of Interior, Inspector General of Police, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Interior, Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Attorney General. However, up till date, we have not received a single response concerning this issue.
Please note that, I was reliably informed that a contract was signed between the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Interior and Comfort Quality dated 7th May 2019. To our dismay, this company were the highest bidders with an amount of 65 Million Dalasi, but two other companies who had the same quality of product with Comfort were unsuccessful and with lesser bids of 35 and 32 million Dalasi respectively.
By this release, we wish to inform the general public of some of the dubious and ambiguous actions of institutions, at the highest levels, mandated to steer the affairs of the country ‘’without fear or favour’’. We will not relent in our efforts to unmask these people that want to be seen as supporters of Gambian businesses when it is the opposite.
THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT TEDUNGAL MULTIMEDIA & CONSULTANCY FIRM
Project Name: Aluminium Number Plates procurement contract
On the 2nd January 2019, the Ministry of Interior invited bidder to bid for Aluminium number plates procurement contract.
Tedungal Multimedia and Consultancy Firm, Purchases a set of the tender document at the sum of ten thousand Dalasi (D10, 000) from the Procurement office, Ministry of the Interior. We filled, signed and submitted our bid document on time to the ministry.
On the 8th February 2019, we receive a letter from the Ministry of Interior stating that our bid was unsuccessful. No reason was given in the letter as to why our bid was unsuccessful and who won the tender.
Through social media, we were made to understand that Comfort Quality Services emerged as the successful bidder and thus was awarded the contract.
Early May 2019, it came to our attention that some bibbers, wrote to protest against the awarding of the contract to Comfort Quality Services, following the protest, it was on news, that the contract have been revoked by the Gambia Government. And recently we receive the information on termination of appointment of exclusive authorized representative from Comfort’s manufacturer or supplier.
Under normal circumstances and in line with The Gambia Public Procurement Authority Act 2014, all bidders should have been written to and clearly stated why their bids were rejected or unsuccessful. This was never the case we were only given a scanty letter stating that my bid was unsuccessful without further explanation as stipulated in Section 31, sub-section 3 of the Act.
It is in this light that we write on behalf of our company Tedungal, to draw your attention to the provisions in the Act, as well as to know the current state of the contract and what is the fate of other bidders since the previous contract with the then successful bidder has been revoked.
New Gambia Deserve Better!