Tk2 crore tender non-transparent, work awarded via 'negotiations' early morning
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A tender worth nearly two crore taka is floated to recruit personnel through outsourcing but the process of it has been seriously questioned. A “negotiation” notice appeared on the e-GP platform at 3:30 am, and a firm favored by the civil surgeon is allegedly securing the work order quietly.
Recently, several bidding firms accused the Pabna Civil Surgeon’s Office of violating rules in awarding the tender. They submitted written complaints to the Ministry of Health and the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), also demanding that the tender process be suspended.
While the civil surgeon has admitted to part of the allegations, a member of the tender evaluation committee showed the reporter a court order.
Evaluation without viva
Several firms participated in the tender recently called by the Pabna Civil Surgeon’s Office. Under Clause 41(b) of the Public Procurement Rules (PPR), each bidder is to be evaluated on a total of 100 points. Of these, 54.55 percent are allocated for educational qualifications and 45.45 percent for an oral examination (viva).
It is alleged that the Civil Surgeon’s Office ignored this requirement. Without holding any viva voce, a company named State Services Limited received the preliminary approval, or Notification of Award (NOA), to carry out the work worth Tk 19,195,715.
One-hour ‘negotiation’ notice in the dead of night
One of the “deprived” bidders is Firoz Enterprise. Its owner, Firoz Hossain, alleged that the entire tender process was premeditated.
On April 29 at 3:35 am, Firoz received an invitation for price negotiation through the e-GP system. He was given only one hour to respond.
Later, when he attempted to respond to the invitation in the e-GP system, a message appeared on the screen stating: “The negotiation time has not started yet or has already elapsed” and “Failed,” meaning that the negotiation time had either not begun or had already ended.
Participants view the unusual one-hour window issued late at night, outside official working hours, as a deliberate attempt to deny fair opportunity to bidders.
Another contractor that participated in the tender is TSL. Its representative, Abdur Raihan Nayan, said, “Without following any rules or procedures, the work has been awarded to a specific company. We are demanding a rescheduling of the tender after a proper investigation. We have lodged complaints at the highest level. If we do not receive any remedy, we will seek legal action.”
The following day, the affected business owners contacted the civil surgeon by mobile phone and email regarding the allegations. The response from the Civil Surgeon’s Office was that they were “looking into the matter.” According to the complainant contractors, shortly afterward the Notification of Award (NOA) was hastily issued to State Services Limited.
Clear violation of procurement rules
A former senior official of the health department described the actions of the Civil Surgeon’s Office as contrary to the principles of transparency and fairness under government procurement law. He said, “Sending so-called ‘negotiation’ emails late at night during the tender evaluation process and allowing only one hour to respond is not realistic. This puts the entire procurement process under question.”
According to the Public Procurement Act (PPA) 2006 and the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008 of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority, government procurement activities must ensure transparency, fair treatment, equal opportunity, and competition, said the former official, who requested anonymity.
Complainant Firoz Hossain said, “We participated transparently from the beginning. But not allowing us to access the system due to a one-hour notice issued late at night, and awarding the work to another company without conducting the mandatory viva, proves that there has been major financial irregularity and misconduct. We have submitted written complaints to the BPPA and the Ministry of Health. We demand that this tender be cancelled and re-evaluated through a transparent process.”
What the civil surgeon says
When contacted for comment, District Civil Surgeon Abul Kalam Azad sought more time and declined to make a direct statement on the allegations. However, he claimed that all procedures were followed in accordance with the rules of the e-GP system.
He did admit that no oral examination was held, saying, “Even though no viva was conducted, everyone was given equal marks.” When asked why the viva was not held and why marks were awarded in this manner, he referred the question to the member secretary of the tender evaluation committee.
The reporter also spoke with the member secretary of the evaluation committee and recently transferred Sujanagar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer, Dr Ali Mazrui. He too claimed there was no scope for irregularities, stating that any irregularity in e-GP-based tender evaluation would remain recorded in the system.
When asked whether an oral examination had actually taken place, he avoided a direct answer, saying he would not speak to the media without written permission from the authorities. Instead, he advised the reporter to take the matter to court.
