by Linda Straker
- Tendering process has not occurred because of due diligence
- Construction funded by Caribbean Development Bank
- Grenada Education Enhancement Project involves infrastructural works during school year September 2019 to July 2020
The Ministry of Education has disclosed that construction work on a secondary school which is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and was scheduled to start in the latter period of 2019, is yet to have an assigned contractor because the bidding or tendering process has not occurred because of due diligence.
“The delay has been the result of due diligence towards the delivery of a state-of-the-art facility, for the institution, and efforts to ensure transparency and participation, of all eligible firms/contractors, in the bidding process,” said a news release from the ministry which was issued on 6 January 2020 – the first school day of the second term.
“It is with regret that the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development, Religious Affairs and Information, informs of a delay in the tendering process for the commencement of work on Bishop’s College.” The release explained that in a recent communication to the Minister for Education, CDB gave the assurance that the final processes from their end would be completed by Monday, 6 January 2020.
The secondary school which is located on the Grenadine island of Carriacou is to have major refurbishment and expansion work including a new principal office, classrooms and technical and vocational lab.
“The ministry has, therefore, put all systems in place to launch the bids on Tuesday, 7 January 2020, following which a contractor will be selected to facilitate the start of work,” said the release.
As a CDB-funded project under the Grenada Education Enhancement Project, Grenada as the recipient country must comply with the bank’s Procurement Policy and Guidelines which was last updated 1 November 2019.
The Grenada Education Enhancement Project involves infrastructural works on selected schools during the school year September 2019 to July 2020. This includes a new school for St David’s Catholic Secondary, St Andrew’s Anglican Primary School, and Grenada Christian Academy. Additionally, major civil works are expected on other schools such as Bishop’s College in Carriacou.
The procurement procedure which is available on the bank’s website said that the responsibility for the implementation of a project, and therefore for the award and administration of contracts under a project, rests with the recipient.
“CDB, for its part, is required by the agreement establishing CDB to ‘take the necessary measures to ensure that the proceeds of any loan made, guaranteed, or participated in are used only for the purposes for which the loan was granted and with due attention to considerations of economy and efficiency’ and has established these detailed procedures for this purpose.”
“While in practice the specific procurement approach to be followed in the implementation of a project depends on the circumstances of the project, procurement shall comply with the procurement framework,” says section 3, under General Considerations.
The procurement policy states that the financial institution which is headquartered in Barbados requires that all parties involved in the procurement process, including without limitation, recipients, bidders/proposers, consultants, contractors, and suppliers; any sub-contractors, sub-consultants, service providers or suppliers; any agents (whether declared or not); and any of their personnel, observe the highest standard of integrity and ethics during the procurement and execution of CDB-financed contracts and refrain from all prohibited practices.
“If the recipient or other parties involved in the procurement process do not comply with the applicable procurement requirements, CDB may, in addition to the contractual remedies set out in the relevant financing agreement, take other appropriate actions, including declaring misprocurement,” said section 5 which focuses on Conflict of Interest.
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Sorry…am i missing something here!! I thought these requirements were standard practice in the tendering process of any contract.. Do we implement a different approach for projects not funded by the CDB? if we do then change is long overdue.