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Allegations of tender fixing mar Central Bank’s CCTV move
A tender for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of an internet protocol (IP) closed-circuit television (CCTV) system for the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) is being challenged on the grounds that the bid consultant has designed the prequalification criteria to tilt the contract in favour of a pre-selected entity.
In a letter to the CBSL’s Director Facilities Management Department, Akro (Pvt) Ltd–which has done maintenance of the Bank’s CCTV system for a decade–has complained that guidelines for the relevant tender, drafted by a private consultant, are “discriminatory and inconsistent with the overall objective of the desired services”.
The criteria, it believes, have been “designed to eliminate specifically dedicated commercial entities from competing on an equal platform and instead grant the tender to a selected entity upon elimination of a viable competitor,” the letter said. “Many Sri Lankan commercial entities which possess the required technical knowledge, product skill and expertise are immediately disqualified as a result.”
One condition to qualify for the tender is that the applicant shall, at a minimum, have an average turnover as prime contractors (defined as billing for works in progress and completed) over the past five years of Rs 100 million a year.
Another is that the applicant shall have successful experience as prime contractor in the execution of at least three projects of value not less than Rs 20 million each, within the same premises during the last five years.
Commercial entities with specific and focused business models catering to the services and products of the impending tender with precision are made completely redundant as a result of this criterion, the complainant points out.
“Accordingly, we write to raise strong objection to the criterion provided for in the document and seek immediate review of the same,” Akro appeals. It calls for an equal platform to be given to both large entities and emerging businesses to compete on an equal footing, on the basis of the quality of the products and services, rather than the “arbitrarily imposed financial barriers to deter potential bidders”.
The tender involves, among other things, the supply and installation/replacement of approximately 250 IP-based CCTV cameras. Prequalification was open only to local contractors and firms.